To start this little series, I wanted to review some of the untold stories behind some photographs you may or may not have seen that I photographed this year. Yes, while my job entails posting and sharing the most beautiful photos on social media, some images have a deeper story. They may look like one thing but they have so much to it that means so much more to my clients. I hope you enjoy getting a glimpse into a deeper look of the stories I’ve captured in 2021.

Little Women

These little ladies just adore each other. During their session, these sisters and I struck a deal: If they did great the entire session, they could have some photos of their own poses. At the end, they held up their end of the bargain and asked to stand with their backs to me to take a photo. I positioned them with these clouds and asked them to hold hands. This is now one of my most favorite photos of this year. Not really because of how it looks, but because of how these sisters love each other and getting their own special photo was so important to them.

Ariel-Foundation Park in Mount Vernon, Ohio

Grandpa Says

When I photograph dads and grandpas, they typically aren’t the most enthused to have their pictures taken. (Now not all, but enough to notice the trend!) But this grandpa was happy to be getting pictures with his grandbabies. He and his grandson were sitting on this rock and as we were about to end the session, he asked to have their picture taken here. Grandpa might have thought he was asking for a photo for himself but his grandson will have this image to look back on. As the decades pass, this image will become more and more valuable to this family.

Adventures With Piglet

This little man was a little timid at the start of the session. When he arrived, he had this sweet, well loved little piglet in his arms. There is something so beautiful about little ones with stuffed ‘friends’ that make them feel safe. As the session went along, Piglet gave this little guy the courage to adventure on this fallen tree. In situations like this, where kids show up shy and leave adventurous, I feel so lucky to have watched them grow in just one hour’s time.

The Tooley Bunch

As we were walking to our cars, the kids wanted a picture. They are such a funny bunch, they wanted this shot of them popping out from behind the tree. I immediately got Brady Bunch vibes and we came up with this! It’s so, absolutely them and so funny. They chose this as a canvas for their home as well. I always love capturing shots that may not be ‘viral’ to the world but to this family, it was everything to them!

Take A Moment

Taylor is a mother to three beautiful, smart, energetic boys. We, as mothers, know that getting everyone together for a family portrait session can be rough. Little ones are hard to keep clean and even though the boys and dad were playing in leaves, Taylor didn’t let it stress her out. She just snuggled into the sweet babe in her arms. I was supposed to be photographing the boys in the leaves but I turned around and photographed this. So let Taylor be your reminder to just enjoy your session and take in a few seconds to just love, authentically like you would cuddled on a couch at home, during your session. Let it shine through.

Be Yourself

It has become a tradition with the Hartman family to get crazy, silly, funny photos during parts of their sessions. I truly never know what to expect and I LOVE that. So as we were walking to a trail nearby, this scene happened. It was totally playful, silly, and no one was hurt. Everyone was playing along. At the end of this session, Mom gave me a ‘Thanks for always letting us be ourselves.’ and I have kept that with me since. That’s what I love to do for my clients!

Which moment did you love most? Want to see more? We are ALWAYS posting behind the scenes shots and fun videos over on our IG at instagram.com/envphotography so be sure to follow us.