100% pure childhood— as a creative family lifestyle photographer, I love to capture children’s curiosity, sense of adventure, freedom, & play. These boys climbed trees, picked up turtles, jumped puddles, rode “airplanes” into the sunset, played with apples, did a “smoke dance”, and ran together in the light of the moon.
I wanted to capture not just what these two looked like, but the way it feels to be them and see the magic of living life through their eyes…
Why Rhinehart Photography?
John shares, “Lisa’s work is no joke. “Phenomenal” doesn’t even give it justice.”
He continues, “Our boys are the world to me, and Tiffany is my universe. When it came to choosing a gift for her, after nearly 2 years of quarantine, the best gift I could give was to have photographs of the boys being free, exploring, enjoying the wide-open, just being themselves. Showing those moments in time of your children being free is an infinite gift for a mother that has given more than her share continuously.”
He adds, “When I showed my wife Lisa’s slideshow, only a few photos had played and I could see tears in her eyes. It was a total surprise– she could hardly believe that we pulled this off! Thanks to Lisa for giving us pointers on props and outfits! She gave us such a gift. Our boys had so much fun interacting with Lisa during the photo session. They were free and fully themselves. We are so very happy to have worked with Rhinehart Photography on this very important project!”
Orchard Time!
Exploring Toigo Orchard was a perfect fit for this family! It enabled the kids to run around, get curious and just be themselves. As you can see I love playing with reflections, capturing movement, and getting landscape shots that feature the kiddos, too.
I also play with different elements like playing up leaves or bringing in jack-o-lanterns to play up the fall vibe.
Surprise for mom!
John shares, “The boys knew how much it would mean to their mom to surprise her, so unbelievably they kept the secret.”
It was all John’s idea and he and his kids kept it a secret from Tiffany and pulled it off without a hitch!
Climbing Trees
I’m all about capturing movement and action in my shoots. I know a lot of photographers spend a ton of time trying to get kids to sit still and listen, I pretty much do the opposite… “Hey, who thinks they can climb that tree?” (after getting dad’s permission of course!)
Goonies/Sandlot Inspiration
John shares, “The overall vibe of the session was the freedom for kids to be kids.”
John also wanted to add a cinematic element. He named a couple of classic kids movies from the 90s like Goonies and The Sandlot and I completely understood the feeling and was 100% on board.
Planning and Exploring
Before our session, we came up with a plan. We brainstormed places we could shoot, ideas for what to wear, ideas of things we could incorporate, and narrowed it down to our best options. I created an itinerary and list of items to bring to help keep us organized for the shoot. John delivered and then some!
Layered outfits with vibrant fall colors, extras in case they get dirty, Halloween props, etc. We knew we’d want to play in the stream and woods for the first hour and a half, and go to the orchard for the second hour and a half because the sunset would be visible from there.
Little did we know there would be turtles, a moonrise, or this smokey area that fit the feel of the shoot perfectly…
All About Elliot
John shared, “Elliot is a total ham. He is wild and rambunctious and his facial expressions are unreal. Elliot loves to climb trees and run around as much as possible. He is constantly moving and at 6 is just such a perfect “kid” age.”
All About Quentin
John explained, “Quentin is 9 and rambunctious as well. He is the big brother for sure and adored by Elliot. He loves movies and games and is a big Halloween fan. He’s smart and curious and can say the funniest things sometimes!”
Inseparable Brothers
John explained, “These two are pretty much inseparable. As brothers, they spend a lot of time together. They get on each other’s nerves as anyone can, and beneath it all really enjoy each other’s company and play well together. Halloween is for sure one of their favorite if not *the* favorite time of year for them.”
I like how their shadows look *inseparable*!!
Moonrise and Sunset!
The most incredible time of day was when the sun set on the west side of the orchard and the moon rose on the east side!! It was unreal, magical, and the perfect end to our session. No this isn’t photoshopped, both are real…
Kurzawa Family Lifestyle Session Slideshow
See even more photos from the Kurzawa Family Lifestyle Session set to music in the slideshow below!
Hungry for More?
- Check out my most recent family lifestyle session at the zoo here
- See other family lifestyle sessions here
- Click here to read more about booking your family lifestyle session with me