I know this is my second blog post OF THE DAY (crazy!), but I’ve been on a roll being really productive, and once I finished editing this session, there was no way I could just sit on it and wait a couple of days to post it. So ta-da!
A couple of weeks ago, I had just finished doing a shoot for Red Butte Garden, where Jamie works, and I was riding the train home, when I looked at my phone and saw I had a missed call from a Salt Lake City phone number I didn’t recognize. So I listened to my voicemails, and I heard one from someone named Emily, who was interested in having me do some family photography for her. I just figured there had to be some way she had heard of me, through someone I knew here or something. Well, I called her back, and it turns out her husband Sean had randomly stumbled on my blog back in the summer. When they recently had talked about getting some family pictures done, they remembered my website, and one thing led to another, and I found myself booking my very first session with a Salt Lake City family I had never met before and who had found me on the Internet. I was so excited when I got off the phone, I started texting Jamie immediately. I was all, you are NOT going to believe this! Of course he was excited too…. maybe not as much as me, but then, I tend to take geeking out to a whole new level sometimes.
Even though I didn’t meet the Petteys until Halloween morning, when we did our shoot, I knew we’d hit it off. I mean, for one, if they liked my style over other photographers in the area, I knew we were bound to have some things in common. And boy, did we! I nearly died when they told me one of the things that drew them to me was my Jenny Lewis blog post (and then later when, on Facebook, Emily said she was listening to Rilo Kiley). That pretty much put them in my Book of Awesome right off the bat. Then, Jamie and I got so wrapped up in their family dynamic. Their girls, Megan, Anna, and Eloise, are absolutely precious. Seriously some of the most beautiful children I’ve seen (however, when you see where their genes came from, it’s pretty understandable). And they were just so sweet. At one point, Anna came up next to me and pointed at one of the memorial buildings in Memory Grove park, which is where we were shooting, and said, “I think you’d really like to take a picture of that.” And I smiled and told her I’d really like to take a picture of her in front of it, and she said, “Okay, sure!” and ran right up there. They were all just so at ease in front of the camera, which of course makes our job a piece of cake.
Thank you Sean, Emily, Megan, Anna, and Eloise for allowing us to photograph you. It was an honor and a joy, and we couldn’t have asked for a better “first family” to come our way!
And now for the goods…. Don’t you just love this willow tree?
I was so nervous that all the leaves would fall off the trees by the time the shoot came, so on my walk with Gretchen every day, I would cross my fingers before we got to the park, praying it was still gorgeous. And despite a snowstorm earlier that week, everything was still so colorful, and the weather was perfect. Oh, I do love fall shoots!
This one feels very Central Park-esque. I know, I know, Salt Lake is a pretty far cry from New York City, but what I love so much about where we live is that you can go one way and be 5 minutes away from this gorgeous park, and go 5 minutes the other way and be right in the middle of downtown. It’s a perfect balance. So I definitely love the combination of nature with the buildings in the background.
Are you kidding me with how beautiful these children are?! When Jamie and I were telling them all how good-looking they were, Sean was like, I bet you say that to everyone you photograph. And I was thinking, oh, you just wait til these get on the blog. Sean, are you convinced now? ‘Cause I’m sure all my other readers are. :)
Jamie thinks Megan looks like a young Julia Roberts. I have to agree.
This one, I think, is my absolute favorite. With all siblings in this age group, especially sisters, there’s always going to be fighting and bickering, but then moments like this, when you can see so clearly that they do love each other…. oh, it just melts my heart.
Another favorite.
This shot is one of Jamie’s. I love how he captured not only the girls, but also Sean and Emily watching on in the background. Such a sweet moment.
Did I mention how much I love fall shoots?!
And another favorite. I love the energy and the expressions and just how happy the whole scene is.
Hope you guys enjoy your photographs!
Now for the slideshow. So based on our mutual love for Jenny Lewis, I really wanted to use one of her songs. Unfortunately, about 95% of them are not family-friendly or even very optimistic, so imagine my sheer joy when I stumbled on a song called “Barking at the Moon” that she wrote for the movie Bolt (which involved Miley Cyrus and a talking dog- enough said). It was perfect! And also fitting because during the session, we came to a consensus that dogs are definitely way better than cats.
carly - Great, great job, Morgan. Processing is fantastic. Colors are popping so beautifully! And what a precious family! Those girls are GORGEOUS! Way to have fun and play with your clients! That’s what makes exceptional photography and you nailed it here. Keep it up!
Emily - Thank you! We had such a great time, and we absolutely love the shots. We couldn’t be happier!
Alexandra - Great work, Morgan! My favorites are your favorites - the one of the three kids, and the shot of the two of them together - simply beautiful!
Debbie - You are going to be one busy photog when the Pettey’s show these photos to their family and friends! Happy memories captured once again! Lovely!