Keller Family 2020 | Summer in Mount Gretna, PA
Will it rain?
Will it hold off?
Will we melt with heat and humidity?
Is it even possible to reschedule 9 people with everything going on?
All questions we had for each other messaging back and forth all 24 hours up until their shoot. I am lucky enough to call Sarah from Sarah’s Upstyles friend. She is a gem of a human being. I remember drooling over her big, classic hairstyles on Instagram years ago and messaging her to tell her how much I love her hairstyles and hoped I could photograph her work one day. She was the hairstyling talent behind the “Fall Apple Orchard Shoot” from 2018 that everyone loved so much.
I met her lovely family last year for their first family portrait session with me back before Rozalyn could walk. I immediately felt blessed to be considered their photographer. Just the loveliest humans you can imagine and with Sarah and the helm of the styling, they each look like they walked out of a magazine and all complimented the other to perfection. It’s no wonder why they are the cover of my new Portrait Session Guide for Success that all my portrait session clients get upon booking with me.
This year looked quite different with Roz going through the “independent phase” in her new role as big sister to little chunkster Bo. It took all my power to focus on the photography and keep the session moving rather than making goo goo eyes at him the entire time. We also had a few more participants with Nate’s parents actually getting in the photos this year and Nate’s sister and her family with her son, Jake.
Let me tell you about Jake. I could have sneaked him in my bag and taken him home. Not only is he adorable X10, he listened to directions like a champ and, oh, his smile…he could be a model. He saved the day playing with Roz and holding Bo even if Bo’s hair kept tickling his nose. Jake does not like hair…this was asking a lot of him. The shoot was meant to focus on Grammy and Pop Pop to have these memories through the years but, of course, we had plenty of time for all sorts of breakouts with each family unit until the first roll of thunder sounded and we had to pack it up and hike back to the cars.
All-in-all we had the perfect light for the session in the hills of Mount Gretna, PA even if it felt like it was 100 degrees with the humidity of the coming storm. The entire family was flexible enough to start the shoot 2 hours early and we skated by just before the storm hit. A huge thank you to everyone involved in this shoot for helping to carry all “the things” and to pull out all the stops to get so many beautiful photos of the little ones looking and even smiling. It was a dream shoot and I’m so proud to share these couple of favorites with you from Sunday’s session with the Keller family.
Kellers, you rock. Period. I enjoyed getting to know each one of you. I hope you love this sample of your photos as much as I do. The lollipops were the perfect touch at the end! And, because I know how hard it is to wait even a few more days, there are a few surprises in your inbox (Sarah) right now, so go check! Until next year… XO - Megan
