We started their session on these amazing wooden bridges just off of the River Road that cross over a creek leading into the Mississippi river. We were just a short walk from their condo in North Loop, but it felt like we’d stepped into a secret nature hideaway far from Minneapolis. I’m itching to get back here for another shoot so if anyone wants to do a session here, hit me up! I wound up giving them black and white and sepia images in addition to the color ones for a bunch of my favorite shots but I’m only going to post ONE color treatment each here on the blog. I realize not everyone is a photo nerd like me. Three different versions of the same photo might be a bit much for a blog post, yes?

I always try to create a landscape-style panorama if the setting is right for one. These bridges were perfect! I sent Emma and Brian over to the other bridge while I took a series of shots from the opposite bridge. Stitch ’em together and voila! You end up with a super high-resolution image that you can print huge. These panoramas are great for wall art.

After the bridges, we took the steps down to the river shoreline. I love the wooden steps here and the moody greys of the water just before sunset. For the last couple shots, I waded into the river to get a profile of Emma and her beautiful baby belly. I managed to stay dry thanks to some rubber rain boots I borrowed. Having that extra flexibility in setting up the shot was so great that I may need to invest in a pair of my own rubber boots for future water locations.

Isn’t Emma just the coolest pregnant woman ever?

The rest of their session was over in North Loop, just a 15 minute walk away. Those photos will be posted soon! Be ready for lots of beautiful old brick and cute baby bumps! And stay tuned for their newborn photos when their little one arrives. I can’t wait!

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Graffiti Alley is a pretty popular spot for photos in Ann Arbor, so we did run into a few other people, and of course, they couldn’t help but love on Little Bear! He always steals everyone’s heart, especially when he’s wearing his prosthetic leg and people hear how he was born without his back left lower leg and paw. Andrea had him fitted for a prosthetic to help him walk when she adopted him as a senior dog. He’d learned to sort of army-crawl, but it was hard for him to go far and had caused him to develop pretty bad arthritis. The prosthetic helped with all of that so he was able to get out more and follow Andrea on her adventures around town!

Oh and if you saw the last blog post, you know that Andrea also has chickens, so naturally we brought one along for an urban chicken photoshoot! I mean, why not? The transportation of the chicken was a hilarious. We put the hen in a large cardboard box (not sealed, just loosely closed so she couldn’t hop out. She was pretty calm once we got going. We parked the car in a ramp and rode the elevator down with some strangers as we were carrying this generic cardboard box that occasionally let out a cluck or squack. We almost died trying not to laugh! Once we were in the alley, we let the little lady hop out and strut her stuff! Scroll down to see!

Who knew chickens had such an appreciation for urban art?

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Andrea has a little coop in her backyard with 2 Rhode Island Red chickens. Since we were going to be taking pictures of her and Little Bear together, we thought we might as well include her backyard chickens in the fun! We decided to do the photography session right in her backyard because Andrea wanted to have photos of Little Bear in all of his favorite places. They loved to spend time in their backyard garden with it’s abundance of shade, tree swings, and flowers. Little Bear would pass the time watching his two favorite hens. It made for the perfect spot for their photos.

Little Bear was the sweetest boy, and had unlimited smiles throughout his photography session. He was born without one of his paws, so his mobility was somewhat limited, making him one of my easiest models for pet photography! We didn’t have to worry about him bolting off or even catching the chickens when we let them out of their coop! Don’t worry, no chickens were harmed in the making of these photos!

During the session, I was just so touched by how tender and loving Andrea and Little Bear were with each other. Even though Andrea had adopted him as a senior dog, their connection was stronger than many life-long partnerships. It was an honor to preserve their relationship with photography.

So it is with a full but heavy heart that I share these photos today. Andrea lost Little Bear last week at the age of 12 after battling thyroid cancer and megaesophagus for 15 months. He had been given just 6 weeks to live when he was diagnosed, but Andrea gave him love and care fit for a king, and I don’t doubt for a second that his happy and extended life was a result of her intense devotion to him.

I am so glad to have been able to preserve a slice of their lives through these photos. It means so much to be able to look back on favorite times hanging out in the backyard, stalking chickens, and just living life. Here’s to your memory, Little Bear. May you chase chickens to your heart’s content in Heaven.

The post Lifestyle Photo Shoot – a Girl, her Golden Retriever, and their Chickens appeared first on Lightbound Photography.

This was my first family photography session as a professional, and it was for my cousin-in-law, her wife, and their two incredibly sweet kids! They were hoping to get some family photos and a bunch of fun, smiling photos of the kids. I was super nervous and had dragged along my husband to model for a practice shoot the morning before. I picked out all of the spots we would shoot and even made him pose. (He puts up with so much!) But it made the shoot go so smoothly on the day-of because I had a plan for the session.

For this Eagan family photography session we spent the morning hopping around Lebanon Hills Regional Park with Casey, Jaden, and their moms. There were so many other photographers there doing family sessions, as it was a Saturday morning, but we found some spots out of the way and were able to get the kids in some natural poses without feeling stiff or rushed. The kids loved hamming it up for the camera!   The bridge at Lebanon Hills Regional Park was in high demand with the other photographers but when we got our chance to use it, the kids definitely made the most of it. I loved snapping shots of Casey dancing around and showing off his moves! And I love how spunky Jaden is in this shot. I told the kids to turn around and look at me, and she whipped around with such attitude! Love that girl!Lebanon Hills was a great spot for Eagan family photography. I’d definitely go there again!

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