As a photographer who exclusively offers maternity and newborn portraits, I’m constantly brainstorming ideas for other types of sessions to showcase inside my Membership for Motherhood Photographers. On the top of the list that members want to see more of: family sessions! Enter the Dufresne family. Rachael and Perry are some of our very best friends in the world. I was a bridesmaid in their 2015 wedding when I was 8 months pregnant. Four kids later, they’re still as in love and adorable as ever.

The Family Session

With my husband out of town and knowing how well all of our kids get along, I decided to bring my two kiddos along for this family session. I’ve never done that before and was definitely stressed about how it would go. However, my kids (ages 10 and 7 at the time) are great with younger children. I figured they would be an extra set of hands to help out and I was right! (Plus, bribing them with a Chick-fil-A milkshake didn’t hurt.)

We lucked out with stunning spring desert wildflowers, slight breezes, wispy clouds, and mild temperatures–which is a crapshoot this time of year! The setting was absolutely perfect. But how would the session go?? It’s not easy taking photos of four little ones ages 6, 4, 2, and 9 months. I had to shoot fast, switch up their poses often, be flexible, and stay calm.

Go behind-the-scenes of their session

I am thankful that my kids were there to help! They fluffed Rachael’s dress and kept the Dufresne kids entertained. Larger family sessions can feel chaotic at times and have you feeling like you need to pull out all the tricks. If you feel relaxed and fun, so will your clients!

Want to watch me shoot this family session behind-the-scenes?! Find out exactly how we got all of these precious photos with everyone smiling! Log in or join Membership for Motherhood Photographers today to get exclusive access!

In the meantime, here are a few of my favorites from their family session (I mean aren’t they the most beautiful family ever?!)