Lavender Minis 2019

I started planning these Lavender Mini sessions in March. I was looking through Pinterest one day and stumbled upon some portraits that were taken in a Lavender Field. They were so beautiful! I was curious if there were in Lavender Farms in our area available for a few sessions. I googled local Lavender Fields in the area and ended up renting out some time at Sunshine Acres Lavender Farm. An adorable little family owned farm in Morrow, Ohio. I was completely in love with their farm and could not wait to shoot there!

The Lavender Mini sessions were born. I planned out all the details and released them to the public. They completely booked up within a week. I couldn't believe it! I was so excited. They were so successful that I opened up a second weekend.

Fast forward to two weeks before the first set of minis. I received an email from Jennifer informing me that her poor lavender plants had contracted a joy sucking, soul stealing, lavender killing root rot disease called Phytophtora. Not only are the plants being attacked it has bene raining sideways in Cincinnati for months at this point so the lavender hasn't even bloomed yet. For those of you who know me I suffer from anxiety. This on top of all the rain has me wanting to crawl into a whole a slowly die somewhere. Full blown 2007 Brittany Spears freak out. I emailed all of my lovely clients and was in constant communication with Jennifer, who was a saint by the way! She was just as stressed as I was.

Once everyone was rescheduled all I could do was pray really really freaking hard that the rain would hold of for just a few hours so I could deliver these photos to my paying clients. Thats all I wanted Cincinnati just a few short hours. Guess who doesn't care about my wallet or my schedule. Mother Nature thats who. It rained and rained and rained. I had to reschedule yet another set of Lavender Minis. I am confident at that these once beautiful sessions were going to put me into an early grave. I was sure of it.

After many, many emails and lots of flexibility from my clients we were able to coordinate another set of dates for our photos. The day finally came and of course rain was on the radar. Most of my clients like to get their hair and makeup done before their shoots. I try and account for this by paying close attention to the weather. I would hate for us to show up to a shoot after hours of you preparing only to get rained out and it forces you to have to reschedule and pay for these services again. No one wants that. I definitely don't want you blowing your hard earned money twice when I can prevent it. However this day was the exception. It looked like it was going to rain. The news said it was going to rain. It was actually raining outside when I left my house but we waited it out and we tried for it anyway.

It was really muddy and I was sliding everywhere in my sandals but someone or something heard my prayers. The sky parted for a few hours and this big bright thing in the sky came out of the clouds and it stopped raining! I was able to capture all of my sessions that day. I couldn't even believe it.

The Johnsons were my first family of the evening! I couldn't get over their red hair. Little fun fact about me I have a real thing for red heads. Sorry Chris, I would birth Ed Sheerans babies at any moment. I just wouldn't be able to resist those pale faced, freckled nosed, red headed heart breakers.

The beginning of our shoot started out a bit bumpy because they forgot an outfit! That didn't stop us from capturing some beautiful images! We had some many nice light leaks that I absolutely love.

We played with bubble guns and chased each other through this beautiful lavender field. It was such a fun location to run around in. I am so thankful to The Johnsons for trusting me to capture their family photos! I can't wait to work with them again.

I met Anish and his beautiful wife and daughters during my mommy + me sessions. They were so understanding and flexible with us having to reschedule their shoot. They have quickly become one of my favorite families to work with!

Little Ms. Thang here was wanted nothing to do with our first session a few months ago but not this time! She let her real personality shine through and I loved it so much!

Look at those smiles guys! How beautiful is that light prism behind them. It was a nice added touch. You would never be able to tell that the ground was puddled with inches of rain water from the weeks and weeks of continuous rain. The Krishnans had some of the best lighting of the night during their session.

Maria + Steve were my next family. Maria and I actually went to school together. She was a grade above me and was best friends with my cousins, cousin. When she booked a session with me I couldn't wait to catch up and meet her babies! This small world got a little smaller when I discovered that my boyfriend and Marias husband used to work together at the banks.

I swear to you they have two of the sassiest girls on the planet but they are so damn cute! They stole my heart. I already can't wait to shoot with them again.

The girls had so much fun popping bubbles and chasing chickens. I love working with families. These mini sessions give me the opportunity to interact with multiple different families all in one day. I can't even believe I get paid to take cute photos of your loved ones everyday! Check out the more from The Simpson's story.

Do you remember that cousin of my cousin that is friends with Maria? Well, her name is Emily and she just so happened to book the shoot directly after Maria. I assumed that they had collaborated that but after talking to Maria it was a total coincidence. Turns out Emily + Maria hadn't even talked in a while. Life gets crazy especially when you're chasing little ones around. I hadn't seen Emily in years and was excited to meet her fiancé and her babygirl!

When I say her baby was one of the happiest babies I've ever seen I am in no way exaggerating. She was full of smiles and giggles.

Shawna and her girls were next. They were so sweet! Her girls were a little shy at first, but as usual after a few shots they loosened right up. I can always see the stress and anxiety wash away from my clients after they warm up to being in front of the camera for a second.

The Niese's are the cutest little family! There little girls were pros in front of the camera! I could feel the love + warmth from this family. I have way to many favorites from this shoot. I'll let the photos speak for their selves. Thank you Meredith for trusting me with capturing these photos for you + your beautiful family!

Last but defiantly not least, meet Amber + Steve! When I met Amber she was very pregnant with her youngest daughter Kinzie. Her family was complete when we met this month. I was so excited to meet Steve + their awesome kids. This family was full of jokes + personality. I would grab a beer with Amber + Steve any day of the week. Amber + I are already planning our next shoot. Check out some of the best photos from their family shoot.

I adore all of my clients but these seven families will have a special place In my heart after this huge ordeal. Finally, I can say the 2019 Lavender Minis are over and were one for the books. As always thank you for sharing your stories with me!