Brookside Gardens - Family Session

Today on the blog I’m sharing photos of this beautiful session at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton Maryland. Brookside Gardens is such a great place to bring your family, go for a walk, and check out the beautiful scenery. Brookside is part of the bigger Wheaton Regional Park, and if you’ve been you know it’s a huge place!

I’ve met up with friends here, gone on walks, and even checked out the Dahlia Show! I’ve been to the gardens several times and each time I find a new thing to love about the gardens. It also serves as a beautiful venue for weddings and other celebrations.

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Family Session at Brookside Gardens

We had this photo session during the fall season. Fall is such a wonderful time to schedule a family session at Brookside. Look at the beautiful foliage!

There are several areas that are a little “hidden” away from the more popular areas and that’s one of the reasons I love having sessions here.

Can we talk about how cute this family is? Young toddlers are so much fun to photograph! You can tell this little one has so much fun with her mom & dad and loves to explore!

I think one of my favorite things about this session was photographing the sweet family connection and documenting her curiousity.

There is so much to appreciate with lifestyle photography and having unique photos with your family.

Learn more about scheduling a family session here.

Family Activities for In Home Sessions

I absolutely love in home sessions. There are several benefits to in home sessions and I’ll save the reasons why for another blog post - but - they’re amazing and sometimes you can’t do all of these goodies during outdoor sessions!

Keep reading if you want to learn about different activities you can do during your in home family session!

Dance

You read that right - dance! Put on a little music, or sing if you have to - it’s a fun way to bring the sillies out of both the parents and the kids!

*Party Freeze Dance song is currently stuck in my head. Ha!

read

A lot of the time young children have preferred books and this is such a fun way to document this young stage of life by reading one, or two, or three of your kids favorite (short) books!

complete a puzzle

This is another activity that will help tell your family’s story by freezing this moment of time with the little one!

snuggle on the bed

At some point of your family session it is highly likely I will ask most if not all family members to snuggle on the bed! It always connects the family and there are so many unique perspectives to show connection!

movement

This will of course depend on your child’s age but I do know many toddlers enjoy movement.

This can mean airplane, tickles, chase, gonna get you, or really anything to get the little one to squeal, laugh, and move!

favorite toys

I don’t know what we would have done if we decided that the little guy couldn’t play with cars during the family’s newborn session. Afterall this is an in home session and we want to include home elements! I loved all of the photos with the different activities little guy and his dad with the cars!

include a pet

I will admit that we have two cats and it’s very rare that they participate when we have family photos at home. I love when families ask if the cat/dog/other family pet can participate. Of course!

caregiving

Here’s another activity you might not think of when you think of family activities. Caregiving is one of those things that tells a story - diaper changing, changing stained clothes, handwashing, toothbrushing. They are more documentary-ish but I love those types of activities none the less.

play outside

Most in home sessions are scheduled for late morning but if the weather cooperates, going outside is a nice way to wrap up the session. Whether you want to play a sport, run around, or play with the equipment & toys, it’s a nice way to get some energy out!

Is there another activity you’d like to include during your in home family session? Let me know and I can’t wait to photograph you!

Family of Four Spring Photos in Bethesda Maryland

Do you want to know one thing that will excite a small business owner? Referrals!!! This was my first time photographing this family and they were sent to me from another small business owner and I am so so appreciative of both.

I was kept busy by the boys at this family session and I think because of their energy we got some really amazing images that really show the family’s connection and dynamics and that’s always what I want to capture when I am photographing a family. I know when families come to me, they want genuine connection and laid back sessions. And look what kinds of images we create together!

When was the last time your family was photographed? I think at the very least your family deserves family photos once a year. Send me a message if you have any questions about booking your next family session!

Relaxed Family Photos at McCrillis Gardens | Bethesda Family Photography

I have had several family sessions at McCrillis Gardens and I definitely wanted to share this beautiful family’s session on the blog!

If you’re new here, welcome!

I’m a lifestyle family and newborn photographer in the DC area. I offer relaxed family sessions for laid back families looking for photos to show connection and emotion. I offer sessions in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia and all in between!

If you’ve been here already and you’re familiar with my work - welcome back! So happy you’re here.

I love having family sessions at this beautiful hidden garden in Bethesda. McCrillis gardens has several beautiful plants, flowers, and scenery right in a little tucked away garden in Bethesda. There are several areas I like to use at McCrillis and they include the foliage, the bridge (of course because I love TEAL), the trees, the greens, and the house to name a few. There are some areas I like to use at each session but I’m very flexible and family sessions can actually vary per family. There are several unique areas and I love incorporating new spots to photograph!

Other sessions on the blog taken at McCrillis Gardens:

5 tips for Successful Family Sessions

What I look for in a Session Location

The twins were new walkers and I wanted to make sure I spent some time documenting this amazing milestone while they were holding onto Mommy and Daddy. We moved around and a few times to have variety at this family session and we ended snuggling on the blanket.

During your family session I will pose and guide you in great lighting and scenery and I will photograph sweet moments of your family interacting with each other. I do tend to take a few “everyone look at me for a second” photos at the beginning, but once we’ve got those we shift over to more relaxed, organic photos that actually show emotion and connection.

Have you recently had your family photos taken? Send me a message and we can schedule your family session!

Photos I like to take at each Family Session | Maryland Family Photographers

So you want to take family photos, that’s great! I’m so glad you’ve made it here on my website. I’m Tabitha and I’m a family and newborn photographer in the DC area. I offer lifestyle family sessions that are joyful and connected.

It’s so important to me to document your family in a way that is organic and accurate. You would be surprised how many photos I can take within the hour of your family session. Sometimes we even do it in less than an hour! There are several different photos I like to take at each family session because I think it helps to have a variety of images in your gallery. Maybe you want to print the photos, maybe you want to put them in an album! Kids can be unpredictable so I don’t guarantee any specific images in your final gallery, but here’s a general flow of what your family session with me will be like.

Keep reading if you want to see all of the photos I like to take at each family session.

your family engaged & connected

I will guide you all to interact with each other. This can mean hugging, being close, singing a song, or doing an activity specific to your family.

a “money shot” photo

Some families do want 1 or 2 photos of everyone looking at the camera. Whether this specific “money shot” is for the grandparents or the holiday card, it’s best to take this one at the beginning of the session just in case the children lose interest.

portraits of each child

I think it’s important to take a few minutes to get photos of each child. I will talk to the children, play, sing, and do whatever it takes to make them relaxed and eliciting a natural expression. Sometimes the portraits will be the young child in their parents arms too. It can still be a beautiful portrait even if the little one just wants to be held in their parent’s arms.

sibling shot

Sibling shots can be tricky so I don’t have really high expectations for these. Of course it’s great to have them looking at the camera, but I don’t sweat it if they don’t. After all I’m not looking for picture perfect sibling shots here. I’m a lifestyle family photographer. It’s more important to document your family and focus on the emotions and interactions, whatever that might look like for your family.

each parent with children

We definitely want to get each parent with the children to document the relationship, however silly, playful, or loving the relationship is.

parents

We can’t forget about the parents! I usually do these at the end once I know I’ve gotten the rest of the photos with the children.

extras

There are definitely going to be moments and cute things that happen throughout, or maybe these happen at the end.

When you book a lifestyle session with me you aren’t limited to picking your favorite 5 or 10 images. You’ll receive all of the images that best represent the family connection at your family session. I don’t like to put away my camera until I get to my car because funny moments can happen at the very end of the session!

There you have it! I can’t wait to photograph your family!

{jenna & cole} | mommy and me session | atlanta lifestyle photography

This was my second time photographing this Mommy and toddler and we decided to do a Mommy and Me session! Click here if you want to see Cole's one year cupcake smash! Cole is such a fun toddler and we went with the flow during this in-home lifestyle session. What I love about this age is that it ends up being more fun and relaxed when you go with the toddler's lead and what he or she wants to do.

We had so much fun today reading books, playing with puzzles, eating a snack, playing with toys, playing airplane with mommy, and really just seeing what Cole had in mind to do. I love capturing the way she and he look and adore each other. Mom is a local photographer so it's always fun to give her some fresh images of her and her little snugglebug!

That's what lifestyle is all about. Capturing real life. If you are interested in booking a family session, get in touch with me by filling out this contact form and we can get something on the calendar! Can't wait to meet you! 

{krishan} | six months | decatur family photography

I was so excited to see this little guy, I hadn't seen him since I photographed him at 3 weeks! So much has changed in six month and he's such a big boy! Mom and Dad had a cute nautical theme that looked so cute with the decor and matching outfits! We had it all planned out to have more than just the one boat in the scene but this little guy was busy and totally didn't care we were trying to stage the area! 

I loved the lifestyle feel of this session, there's such an intimate feeling having lifestyle sessions in the home, and they had the perfect master bedroom for it. A clean space and more focus on the baby! What I also loved was that Grandma joined the fun and got in for a few of the photos. I love including all the family members and it provides such a nice variety of choices of natural interactions! 

We went outside to the backyard to wrap up our session and the little guy loved it! I can't wait to see him at 9 months. If you're interested in a newborn or family session, please contact me and we can get something on the calendar! 

-Tabitha 

{aronson family} | sunday funday | atlanta lifestyle photographer

I had the pleasure of documenting some silly moments with this family. The children were a bit excited with a new person coming into their home with a camera, but I was able to be a bit sneaky and tried to sit back and observe some family interaction. I loved the moments that I was able to document toy play, story time, and being silly with Mom and Dad.

If you enjoy weekend morning play as much as I do, I'd love to capture some lifestyle moments with your family! Head on over to my contact page to say hello or check out more of my work here!