Nashville Family Photographer | What if your kids fight or misbehave
It finally happened. I had a family film and photo session where the kids fought. A LOT. The rough plan was to bake cookies and decorate the tree (when they began fighting, I thought, oh yea, this is how it is in most families!)... and well the baking was hard because the toddler boy wanted to do menacing things while the older sisters baked and well, they got really frustrated. The tree decorating was wild because everyone had their own idea of how the tree should look and well... LOTS of fighting happened.I got home, worried I was going to deliver a film that would only remind the family of a day of fighting. But I started editing the photos and had a realization...This family will remember that on their hardest days, there was SO much love. Love in the in between, woven in and out and between all the fights.I regret not capturing the fighting more. Next time, I will. If you want your family captured, please reach out to me! 
Nashville Family Photographer + Filmmaker | The Whitley Family
I am often times, hired by other photographers, and it's literally the BEST compliment of my work. Filming and photographer the life of a local photographer, Mandy Whitley, was no exception. I truly enjoyed learning their story of how their lives have evolved over the years. Being with her and her husband and son and watching them love him immensely. It was truly an honor and SO fun. I love how their film came together, the song and the the feel of the entire thing - just gives me goose bumps. If you are thinking of having a family film, please reach out to me!
Nashville Newborn Photographer | The Smith Family welcomes baby #2
I just loved spending a fall morning with The Smith family, capturing them in their new life with baby #2, a boy. They have enjoyed their time with a newborn and their 4 year old, being out on their land with their chickens, in their kitchen drinking coffee together... life together raising a 4 year old sweet girl who just became a big sister - who loves to read and put on makeup and be with her parents and baby brother. This time with littles is so fleeting (and exhausting!) and I love being able to give my sweet families their memories of this time that can go by in a blur. If you want your family captured, I would LOVE to chat! 
Nashville Tennessee Family Photographer | A day in the life with The Hall Family
On a beautiful day in November, I was blessed to be able to spend a few hours with The Hall Family, capturing a typical Saturday of how they spend their time together. 
It would be so sad to get to the end of our years with kids living in our homes, doing their laundry and waking them up for school, to miss having a day in the life on our Saturdays together, wouldn't it? We need to pass these memories down to them, in a tangible way that is easy to view over and over again. I just adore spending time with families. Watching them be their unique selves, together. Playing chess, baking cookies, dancing, rough housing with dad, riding bikes and everything in between.... the tiny moments like when a child is afraid and needs mom, or dad kisses their young child's boo-boos. All of it is so incredible. And clients are so surprised by how romantic their life actually is and looks when I send them the photos. That is my favorite part. They thought their life was so boring but it turns out, life is pretty incredible. No matter who you are or how "boring" you think your family is. If you want me to show you how incredible your family is, reach out to me here.
Nashville Newborn Photographer | The DeClue Family
Getting to enter a family's life and see them just a few weeks into their parenting journey, is such a fun experience. I love seeing them head over heels in love with this new human, a few weeks into their new lives, being entirely new people really, because having a baby changes you a million times over. I love thinking ahead to how she won't be this tiny for long. How they will grow into their parenthood. How as a couple they are going to change and grow together, raising a little girl. I love thinking about how soon she will sit up, then crawl, and one day walk. How in a few short weeks, the babbling and teething will come and she will say her first word. and how amazing it will all be for these two parents. If you want me to come capture your life with your new baby or as a family, please reach out to me here, I would LOVE to chat!
Nashville, Tennessee Family Photographer | The Fletcher Family
Amanda reached out to me late in the summer for a documentary photo session of their family on their family farm in Bon Aqua, TN. It was such a dream, following them around while they did their farm chores, checking the piglets, clipping flowers, feeding the huge pigs, feeding the meat birds, and baby chicks. According to their website, they sell from a farm standing Fairview, TN. I truly had so much fun being with them for a few hours. Their oldest son acts like an adult and verbally told me he LOVES farming. They are are homeschool family (like mine) and that really bonds me to them. Their kids are full of personality and hard work, love, and connection just flows from the time you are with them. If you want your day in the life captured, please reach out to me here.
Nashville Family Photographer | 5 things You don't have to do for an in-home family photo shoot with Jennie Pyfferoen
I am constantly talking with friends, clients, etc about life and their kids and homes etc. and I see it all the time: misunderstandings about what things need to be done for a photo shoot, or things that exist in their everyday that they feel the need to erase.... Let me give you
5 Things You Don't Have to do for an In-Home Family Photo Shoot
#1 You don't have to erase writings on the wall.
I was at a friend's house recently and I saw on the trim in a doorway, little pencil scribblings, marking heights of various children as they have grown over the years. I stopped and touched it, moved emotionally, and she said "Oh gosh, I really need to clean that!" and I immediately, said "No way, thats history. The history of your children, your time in this home, their growth, the changes of life, their childhood. Don't you dare ever get rid of it" and She immediately sat in her response and realized, I was right. Please don't erase historical, meaningful things from your home for the sake of perfection/order/cleanliness.
#2 Dress up.
Have you ever worn something you hated and had to act happy about it? Kids feel the same way. The best way to make kids hate photo shoots is to make them wear certain clothing. Does your toddler NEED to wear his too small Spiderman costume? LETS DO IT. He will cheer up and we will make amazing photos that not only exude joy and peace and love, but also remind you of when you had a 3 year old boy who was obsessed with his costume.
#3 Behave.
Your kids don't have to be PERFECT during our time together. I want them to feel human, and themselves. So if your 9 year old daughter brings out her sass, Im all about it. She will likely make some faces you see EVERYDAY and I then can capture that! So you can always remember when she was 9 and super sassy.
#4 Extreme clean the house.
What I tell clients is, if it's the normal amount of messy, leave it. If it's messier than normal, tidy it up a tad. But please don't make it extraordinarily clean for the session. When your kids look back on the photos (or family film), I want them to be reminded and that won't happen if they see video and photos of their home in an unusual state. I want the mess there that they saw on a daily basis. That is after all, their childhood.
#5 Feel rushed.
One of my favorite parts of these in-home sessions is that there is no rush. In fact, I allow a lot of time for kiddos to get out of the initial performance and or shy stage, so that they can get settled into forgetting I'm there so that I can adequately tell the story of your life together. Time is truly our friend and it allows for everyone to get into their natural element.
If you want a session like this, please reach me here!
Nashville Family Videographer + Photographer | The Sogard Family
I spent an afternoon with The Sogard Family in June, and it was absolutely all the things. They are such a tightly connected, fun, loving, close family. Creating a story through video and photos to capture that was just such an amazing experience. Following them around on their little farm, getting the eggs from the coop, feeding the cows, playing together.... What an amazing memory these kids will have years from now to look back on. The sounds of their little voices, their mama reading, their laughter, will all be there for them to easily access and watch over and over again. I love how intimate they all are together. During family films, it can become so easy to focus on what to do... families can tend to hop from activity to activity but really, its not the activities that matter so much as how you do them together. Showing your love, connection and intimacy really makes a film a million times better! If you want your family filmed and photographed, please reach out to me here! I would love to chat! 
