Anchorage Family Photographer | "A" Family

Remember summer? I feel like I’ve already forgotten. I’ve had some amazing sessions so far this winter, so no complaints, but when I look at images from sessions like this, I’m ready for the GREEN!

Mom did an amazing job on outfit planning for this session, and I took them to one of my favorite spots to shoot. Those mountain views though!

"“A” Family!

Anchorage Photographer | Golden Hour Sessions

Let’s talk about lighting!

Golden Hour Sessions

When you contact me to schedule sessions, I will always try to talk to you into going as late as possible for the best and most flattering lighting. Photographers LOVE the beautiful, golden light that you get at the last hour of the day, and because I want your photos to turn out the best they can, I will try to convince you and your family to schedule as late as you can. Scheduling for golden hour has an extra challenge in Alaska, as the most popular time for outdoor sessions is during the summer, and as we know, the sun feels like it never sets up here during that time. That can mean scheduling at 10:30-11:00 at night, but I promise that the results will be worth it. Read on for other options if you have a young family and scheduling that late won’t work for you.

Option 1 - Schedule for earlier in the day, but compromise on location.

My most requested spots in Alaska are requests for mountains in the background. In order to get that beautiful mountain backdrop, you need to be somewhat out in the open, and if the sun is out and it is earlier in the day, that can mean harsh lighting, which would create harsh shadows, or half closed eyes with scrunched faces because the light is too bright in your eyes. If you need to go earlier in the day due to family schedules, I will suggest going somewhere with some tree cover. If you are able to filter out some sunlight with trees, it can make for some beautiful, evenly lighted photos.

Option 2 - Wait for a day with some cloud cover.

This is an easy option. If we get a cloudy day, the clouds filter the sun and depending on how thick the clouds are, makes the lighting easy and even, and we can have your shoot anywhere, and at anytime during the day you like.

Option 3 - Schedule later in the year.

Summer photos are so pretty. But if you are set on a sunny location with mountains, consider scheduling during September or October for some earlier golden hour times as the sun starts setting earlier and earlier. BONUS! Fall photos are my favorite.

Option 4 - Embrace the sun.

Although I don’t recommend this option, they are your family photos, so as long as you are aware why I do not recommend this lighting situation, we can always head out and do our best with the sunlight during a convenient time of day for your family. It can mean beautiful photos as well!

Option 5 - Studio session.

It is hard to pass up Alaska’s outdoor scenery. However, if you would like to be able to control temperature, lighting, bugs, etc, I do have a studio and we can do an easy studio session instead of an outdoor.

Anchorage Wedding Photographer | "J" Wedding

Now that we're solidly in winter here in Alaska, let's have a little sunshine in our lives with a wedding I did back in July!

It was a hot, beautiful day. With a super fun wedding party, and some of my favorite clients, this wedding was so much fun. And their theme, is to die for. Rustic, neutral, yellows... I need to decorate my house like that. 

I've been doing photos for this couple since their son was a newborn and they were in a desperate search for a last minute photographer, and found me. I did little man's photos every 3 months for his first year, so as you can imagine, I got to know his parents as well. And they are SO much fun. Their personalities go together so well. So when they asked me to do their wedding photography, I was thrilled. I got to come hang out with them, and their venue, Gloryview Farm in Wasilla, was amazing. Every detail was thought of, and I'm honored I was able to be a part of their  day. 

Thank you again, M and A! You guys are the best!

Anchorage Senior Photographer | "C" Senior

You guys. It's been so cooooooold. I'm talking so cold that the other day I walked out my front door and thought Oh! It feels warmer today! It was 6 degrees. SIX. DEGREES. So just the fact that I thought that was warm tells you how its been for the last couple weeks. But I'm really hoping this is a precursor to what our summer looks like, because although its been way too cold, it's been nonstop clear and sunny. As I'm typing this, it's 2 degrees outside. Hurry up (sunny) Alaskan summer! 

I've been dreaming about warmth so I thought I would post a session that I did in the fall with fall colors, and it was clearly warm enough that we were all comfortable in long sleeves and no coat. 

I loved this session. Mom kept telling me that my girl here was not super into having her picture taken, but by the end of this session, we were laughing and having so much fun that it wasn't even work anymore. And look how gorgeous she is. Effortlessly, might I add. Because I do a lot of child portraits, every time I get someone in front of my camera that will follow directions and laugh with me, it's a good day.

"C" Senior!

Anchorage Maternity Photographer | "L" Maternity

I've lived in Alaska for a long time now. I was born in Fairbanks, and although during high school I left for a while, and have finally come home as of 2.5 years ago, Alaska is home for me. So I like to think I know where things are located. (I don't.) When this awesome mom-and-dad-to-be asked for their session at Eklutna Tailrace, I thought I knew where it was. I've even had previous clients ask about that spot, and I've directed them somewhere completely different. (I'm sorry!) 

This time I somehow managed to get it right, and I'm so glad I did. We got to do this session on one of our last semi warm nights of fall, and I'm in love. The only problem (or not problem) with this spot, is it is a hot spot for fishing, so we had to maneuver our way around everyone fishing without disturbing them, and somehow we managed. And if we had some strangers who managed to get in the background of photos, thank you Photoshop, you magical thing you.

This couple is so so much fun. I don't think we stopped laughing this entire time, and when I found out Dad had brought his fly fishing pole "just in case", I knew we needed to work that in. One of my very favorite maternity photos came from this session!

Since this session was at least 3 months ago, they have since had their gorgeous baby boy, and I got to meet him at his newborn session with me in December. 

As always, a big huge thank you to Sew Trendy Accessories for your amazing maternity dress. I'm starting to get quite a collection of exclusively Sew Trendy dresses, and every one is impeccable.

"L" Maternity!

Eagle River Child Photographer | "F" Cousin Session

I'm in love with this session. I was contacted by this client to do a cousin's session while her sister was in town with her two little girls from Texas. Such an awesome idea. As a person who grew up very close to her cousins, I would love to have something like this to look back on as an adult.

How cute are all these kids? And their outfits were so well coordinated, and they were all AMAZINGLY well behaved. One of the moms was a fellow photographer, so I barely had to direct anyone, she knew how to get their attention, helped me with posing, etc, this session was a breeze. I have to admit, I'm always a little nervous shooting in front of other photographers, but I loved this. The first mom is a previous client from a newborn shoot, and little man in blue in these pictures was one of my newborns almost a year ago. What a doll!

Before the session, I was asked if I had a bench that all 5 kids could sit on for the session, and I realized that even though I feel like I have every prop under the sun, I did not have a bench big enough to fit 5 kiddos. So I looked around and realized the perfect bench sits right in my studio. So with the help of my awesome clients, we dragged the bench out to the middle of the park, and we may have gotten a few funny looks, but the photos turned out awesome! So now my studio bench will for sure be a prop I'll be using outside more often. 

"F" Cousin Session!

This sweet big cousin asked for this picture with his gorgeous little cousin. I melted at the request!

Let's talk about this picture real quick. This was a request by the big kid cousins right at the end, and they really wanted a jumping picture. However, after many attempts (and a lot of laughing), we realized what we were just not going to be able to get everyone off the ground at the same time. So with the help of a little Photoshop magic, we were able to get the picture that the cousins really wanted. :)