I’ve heard a lot of great photographers say that you’ll never know how your clients feel until you get behind the camera yourself. That could not be more true! I have so much more respect for my clients after getting our own family portraits done. Growing up we didn’t do regular yearly portraits, but I remember the session we did when I was 8 or 9 and the collage that hung on the wall for years afterwards. My grandparents have a giant 60 or 70″ framed portrait of them and their five boys that has hung over the couch since I can remember. The 8×10’s around it have always rotated and changed but that one image that cost my grandparents a fortune was a staple while I was growing up.

I know the importance of family portraits, but I didn’t realize how difficult it is logistically! First you have to find a photographer whose style you love. Do you want more posed images? Studio lighting? Photo journalistic images of your family in their own environment? Do you like clean edits or maybe more artistic?
These are questions I didn’t even know I had to ask before getting our photos done!

Luckily, I’ve been blessed by an amazing group of local photographers who are committed to building each other up, and Misti Nicole Photography offered to do our family portraits for us!  She was amazing with my girls and even told this momma of a 6 month old that she looked pretty in a dress ;]

K was in love with this dress we got her for her third birthday, sure that miss misti would think she’s a princess.  On the flip side, J was not too thrilled with her beautiful dress, but did enjoy the climbing. J has the most beautiful smile, but it’s rare to catch it on camera. One day! One of my favorite parts of the session was the snuggle break we took. I was so amazed with how many great images Misti was able to capture within our mini session!This is Baby E at six months. No words necessary. She completes our lives!A second goal of our session was to get some nice images of Josh and I and I’m so happy with them!These two images are the ones that we chose for our walls and ordered canvas’s of! We have lived in this home for close to three years now and haven’t put up any photos yet except a wall art print my grandma gave us. I’m excited to finally practice what I preach and get my family memories on the walls!

Jeanette Rowley specializes in senior photography in the Greenville, PA and surrounding Western PA areas. Use the contact button above or email jeanette@jeanetterowley.com for more details.