Jen, Allen & their adorable family’s summer session at Unity Village in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

This family will always be special to me. The family tree of the entire Hawleys. From their weddings, to children’s and family sessions, plus all the projects and travels I’ve done with Jen’s brother Matt with Hawleywood Films. I even played college volleyball with Jessie, Jen’s sister. We grew up going to the same high school together so all the fun connections make sense.

The last time I got to photograph Jen and Allen was at their November wedding a few years back on their family property. So many memories to cherish and so many to look forward to. Thank you for always having me document your special people.

PS. Did I mentioned we started the session off like this?

Jen – “My little one is in a really bad mood, this isn’t going to go well.”

Me – Always reassuring my clients I’ve got this and I’ll get those fleeting smiles in those little moments. “Just make sure to stay calm, we tend to little man at ALL times, we can go and do whatever he wants. It will SEEM like chaos but I promise I’m getting it.”

She didn’t believe me. So I sent her some sneak peaks in the car and per the usual, the moms who feel like their session was a complete disaster, are always utterly surprised at how quickly I can grab those smiles that seem like they were hardly there. You would’ve never known he cried or fussed almost the entire session *smiles.*