Another year has come and gone and it's time to look back in the most fun way possible: client superlative awards! I love this, because I get to purposefully look back at all of my sessions from the past year and remember all of the fun moments that were had. I always find images that I'd forgotten about, but love. Truly, social media shows you the smallest fraction of what a full gallery looks like. There are thousands of images from the past year... over 3 TB of images actually, because I ran out of space on my hard drive and had to buy a new one in October.
So, if you're new here, every year I decide on a bunch of categories and choose a few photos that fill each category as the best of the year. Some categories are new each year and some I repeat, but the images chosen are my favorites. Just know that I could fill pages with more and more and more photos, because I truly love every gallery one of your galleries.
Without further ado, here are the best of the best from 2023:
Favorite Beach Photos
The beach was a busy place to be this year, for good reason. It's just one of the most beautiful places for family photos. Most of my summer sessions took place near the water, and I'll always be up for photos at the beach. Honestly, I could do an entire blog post of photos from the beach this year... going through all of the beach sessions reminded me of just how many favorites I have!
Favorite Images of Mom
I hosted Motherhood Minis again this year because it gives moms, the ones so often not in the photos because they're the ones taking the photos, the best excuse to just hop in front of my camera with their kids for 20 minutes. Moms and kids are typically some of my favorite images from each gallery that I send out, and I hope that you love them too.
Favorite Images of Dad
Dads bring lots of fun to sessions, but snuggles too. I've been so lucky to have Dads who participate happily in sessions (or they're at least faking it pretty well), because it hands down makes the session go more smoothly every time. And a special shout out to those dads who go above and beyond to keep a smile on their kids faces!
Saddest Baby/Toddler
Ok. It doesn't happen a ton, but it does happen that sometimes babies or toddlers just won't settle in during a session. And honestly, there is very very little that you can do to turn it around. This age group cannot be bribed out of a funk and obviously you can't reason with a baby. If they're hungry or tired or do not want to be near people right then, they're just going to be miserable for the duration. Sometimes toddlers can be distracted with a snack or silly behavior, but babies definitely can not, and the only reason this bothers me is that I know how much their moms want these photos, how much time and effort has gone into choosing outfits, getting everyone dressed and to the location on time. It stinks for them, and I don't want that to be their experience. But your child totally upset doesn't bother me, so don't ever think you need to be worried about me in those moments. I'll do what I can and switch it up in the hopes we can get at least ONE photo where they're smiling or at least not actively crying. And by no means am I trying to put anyone on the spot. I had 2-3 very unhappy babies this fall, but the most unhappy was this poor thing. Happy only if wrapped up in dad's coat, beside herself if put down by herself or with her cousins. But I know that in a year or two she'll love the camera and be so fun to photograph!
Favorite Sibling Shots
Trust me, I know how hard it can be to get all the kids looking and smiling for that perfect shot! I have three kids and even now when they're a little older it can be challenging to get all three of them smiling at me for a photo. Whether it's someone blinking, looking at another person in annoyance, fooling around and making a weird face, that ONE photo where they're all cooperating and looking can be elusive, and I know that's one of the must-get shots in a family session. In spite of this, or maybe because of this, some of my personal favorites usually end up being the ones where the kids are fooling around or NOT looking at me! Here are my favorite sibling shots from the year.
Favorite Faceless Images
I love a photo with no faces. From the time that I started playing around with a camera, these kinds of shots have been some of my favorites, so I love including them in a client gallery, to help tell the story of their session.
Best Twirling Shots
If your little girls come to a session with me in a dress, you can bet I'm going to stick them in some pretty light and have them do a few twirls for the camera! Or I'll have mom or dad twirl them like they're dancing. Kids tend to find it really fun, and it always ends up being a really gorgeous shot to add to a gallery!
Favorite Newborn Photos
Can I just include them all? Seriously, this is one of the harder categories to narrow down, because I love them all. From individual shots to groups, there's almost no bad photo which is why your newborn galleries are so big! For this category, I tried to focus on more individual shots of babies, as some others will appear in sibling shots and the mom and dad categories.
Favorite Black and White Photos
I've always loved a good black and white photo. When I first started photography, I wanted to convert a disproportionate number of images to black and white. But as I've gained experience, I can recognize a truly great black and white image needs to include great light, contrast, texture & so often, emotion, and I tend to prefer most shots in color these days. These images were meant to be in monochrome and that's why they're my favorite of the year.
Favorite Shots With A Dog
Dogs can add a lot of chaos to a session, especially if small children are also present, but it's always worth it. Dogs are such beloved parts of your families and they deserve to be included in the family photos!
Highest Toddler Toss
If you have a kiddo two or under, I'll probably ask Dad to toss them in the air at some point during your session. Most of the time it's a small toss, but in this session I think we reached new heights!! And he loved every second.
Favorite Pull-back Shot
I love a good environmental shot, and a big, wide-open field is a great place to get one, especially when the sky is as fabulous as this one was!
Favorite Belly Shots
Maternity sessions continue to be the least booked sessions for me, but they're so so great. I absolutely love them and the images that come out of them, and hope that if you've had one done, that you love the photos as well.
Favorite Family Shots
I photograph mainly families, so narrowing down my favorite family photos of the year is no small task. But these two images really stood out to me, mainly for the connections, colors and light in the photos. I just love them so much!
Thanks so much for reading all the way through! Maybe next year, photos from your gallery will end up in the best of 2024 blog post! For now, I'm wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year. Hope to see you all in 2024!
xoxo,
Kristen