{family} The Tadley Family

Family pictures, Santa pictures, and 70 degrees all in one November day. The weather forecast called for a cold and rainy day, but instead, we had sunshine and warmth, which was perfect to capture these moments of the Tadley family. We met at Drexel Lodge Park, which was a first for me. The park is incredible. The large landscape had tons of hills, large trees and a bridge that was built over a serene creek leading to vast wooded area.

I arrived a little early to figure out where we would take pictures and found myself getting in trouble for trespassing as I was climbing a fence to check out the trains. The museum was closed and I’d like to think it was a good, harmless attempt. Despite the soccer game and the chained off area with the huge train display, we found the perfect places that were not too sunny or muddy to take pictures.

I’ve had the honor to take pictures of Steph, Tom, and Ella when Steph was pregnant with Brooks. I’ve had the honor of taking Brooks’ newborn photos, and on this day, I had the honor of taking their family photos. Ella, just a few days shy of turning 3, and Brooks, 9 months old, were the most adorable smiles to capture. There was a lot of running, laughing, dancing, and exploring. We laughed thinking about Ella’s pink rain boots in their previous family photos; and for this one, her choice of a princess necklace. It’s those little things that make the pictures so memorable, and help freeze the precious moments in a toddler’s life that are defined by the things they adamantly decided to wear. She looked beautiful as always and her smile was extra big, with her stunning blue eyes sparkling.

In the last family photoshoot, I emphasized her eyes by creating a black and white photo, leaving the only color as the color blue in her eyes. Brooks has the same amazing color eyes, so I was sure to create a similar picture for their family with Brooks’ eyes. He looked so handsome in his sweater with elbow patches. He kept us all smiling with his fascination with my camera and his left shoe that just didn’t want to stay on his foot.

As always, Steph and Tom were the absolute best. Steph looked beautiful, as she always does and the look of love and pride on her and Tom’s faces while being with their kids is something only a camera can capture. She and Tom are so easy going and it made the pictures look that much more natural. We walked the whole park, eluding the soccer game and getting in trouble for trespassing again. Their pictures came out naturally elegant. The sun was casting just enough light to illuminate them in each picture.

Ella was the amazing big sister I remember her being when I took Brooks’ newborn photos and she was so sweet hugging and giggling with him in all the pictures. It was the perfect way to segue into our Santa photos! I’ve told Steph so many times, and I’ll say it once more: I love photographing their gorgeous family.