Back in August Meghan emailed me. She only saw weddings on our website, she wrote, but she liked the look of our photographs and wanted to know if we ever did family portraits. Also, she’d seen on my About Me page that I was a part of the Pursuit Community, and she thought maybe, just maybe, I knew another photographer involved in Pursuit, a photographer she’d attended church with and who had shot her wedding in California, Suzy Van Dyke.

Well, my jaw just about fell into my keyboard when I read that. Maybe I knew Suzy? Yes, I knew Suzy! We had hung out together at several industry conferences (I’d even photographed Suzy and her husband as part of a styled shoot in Santa Barbara), and Suzy and I were about to share a rental car to and from the airport at the Pursuit Conference 2014. I couldn’t believe what a small world it was that a girl contacting me about portraits in Florida had already been photographed by one of my friends three and a half years before on the other side of the country.

So Meghan and I made plans, and one day last month she and her husband Darryl and their little man met up with me for a lifestyle family and maternity portrait session that was absolute magic.

The little dude is Ethan. And Ethan had lots of plans for the afternoon that didn’t involve playing nice with the camera. Mostly, his plans involved visiting the “dogs” (horses and donkey) in the paddock adjoining our pasture, throwing fruit he found in the grass, and running as fast as his little legs could carry him toward the swamp-water-filled ditch. Just look at that face. Can you say mischief-maker?!And now let’s pause and talk about Meghan for a minute. What a gorgeous mama-to-be!
All right, all right, one more time — the whole family looked incredible.After a quick outfit change, we soaked in the gorgeous sunset.So perfect, Meghan. Your new little is doomed to follow in your family’s footsteps of adorableness.And we’ll end with what may just be my favorite family portrait that I’ve ever captured:Meghan and Darryl and Ethan, you all were just wonderful and I loved getting to meet you! I am so excited for you as you get ready to welcome your newest family member in early 2015!

~ Laura