Reck, Table for 6

When I was scouring through the images of the past year for my Year In Review post, I realized that I had never shared the pictures of our First Ever Photo Session As A Family.

Major fail as a mom. And a bigger fail as a photographer.

The question I CONTINUOUSLY get about my job/home life is "Who photographs the photographer's family?" And it's a good question really. I mean, most of the time a 10 second timer and a mad dash gets me something that will suffice, but where do you turn when you want to be serious about it?! Who do you trust with something like that?

Being a photographer myself, there are a select few fellow photographers that I look to for inspiration. They keep me creative and help me develop my own style. I found Katie and Brandon of Bungalow Photography a few years ago . I can't remember how I stumbled upon them, but after one quick read of their blog, I was hooked. I loved their style. I loved everything about their work. I loved Katie's curly hair and how simply sweet they were.

I knew when Chris and I got engaged that I wanted Katie and Brandon to photograph the day. And then, as that turned into a much less Big To-Do into a more intimate just-the-six-of-us thing, I decided to skimp on the wedding day pictures (I know!! I just said "skimp on pictures"!) and go all-out for our first family session. So, one day in June I relinquished my photographic control-freakiness, sat back and just enjoyed being a client.

I wasn't sure how it would work out -- me letting go and just letting be. I mean, I'm used to the Rule of Thirds, composition, and flow. How am I going to survive a couple hours without seeing the LCD screen of my little clan? Will I be able to function without zooming in to see if our eyes are in focus?

We met Katie and Brandon at this funky, retro diner in Fountain Square in Indianapolis. Where my messiest eater decided to get barbecue ribs for dinner. What. Was. I. Thinking. For the life of me, I cannot figure out how we got out of that place unscathed (and unsauced), but we did. And from there, we strolled around this awesome neighborhood. It was the quaintest little place I've ever been. The buildings were full of character with their worn walls and peeling paint, old metal stairs and perfect doorways. We tucked into alleys, lined up along buildings, and sat in a row on the curb. Perfect. I didn't want formal poses and we weren't all in matchy-matchy outfits. I wanted our personalities to shine thru.

And they did. Just as I imagined.

As a mom to these kids, and a wife to their dad, it's easy for me to see what it is about each one of them that I adore. I love Taylor's giddiness. I love Brenden's soft-spoken ways. I love Harley's goofiness. And I love how Bryce is happy for no apparent reason. I love how Chris laughs at Family Guy when he's the only one in the room. I love that we just "get" each other. I love our inside jokes. I love us just being.

When I look at these pictures, I can see that. To feel that love between each other is one thing, but to see it -- and have others see it -- is incredible. I sent Katie a text when I received my disc of images and told her "I always knew what it felt like to love my family, but now I know what it looks like." My heart implodes with the love that this family shares. No, it's not easy all of the time, but it is easy most of the time. We have our battles, our trials and our bad days. But for the other 97% of our time together, what you see here -- the goofiness, the love, the contentment, the happiness -- is truly what you get when you're around us.



A "thank you" doesn't seem adequate enough for someone that has given me what Katie and Brandon has in these pictures. I couldn't name a price for what they bring to me, or what they mean. I can tell you that they'll be taking our pictures every year from here on out...and probably my children's wedding pictures. And this year, we'll have a picture with them IN IT...well, because they're just that important.

Thank you, Katie and Brandon.