Dear mom,

You've made sure your whole family is in clean clothes, you find our location and pile out of your vehicle.  You look around wondering how this is going to go... 

Your 4-year-old either hides behind mom's legs or heads straight for the creek.  

You immediately envision this session not going well.  

Don't worry if someone in your crew is slow to warm up, we'll get there..  

No big deal if we end up with soggy shoes and sticks.  The photos of pure delight - muddy shoes and all - might just end up being your favorites in the whole gallery.

It may feel like herding feral cats at times (my own family photos always do!) but you can trust the process.  We'll do the large group photos first while everyone's a little bit inhibited and on their best behavior.  Then we'll ease into smaller groupings and prompts that bring out natural laughs.  We'll let the squirrely kids get the wiggles out with silly games before the next pose, and before you know it you'll end up forgetting we're there for pictures because you're actually having fun.

All of the planning & shopping & bribing that had to happen to get your group here is in the past. Now that you're here, you'll marvel at the mystery of this amazing family you get to be a part of.  You'll see chaos, yes, but you'll also see the reason why it's worth the effort.