Merry Christmas! I wanted to take the time to share with you our fall family portrait session from a few months ago.  I am so thankful for Maggie Russo for capturing our family in a special and unique way.

I first contacted Maggie Russo Photo when I was searching for a photographer for Luke’s first birthday party.  I saw Maggie’s work and thought she did a great job with some of the birthday parties she had posted on her blog (Maggie does more than just birthday parties, she also does family portraits).  Unfortunately, we didn’t use Maggie for Luke’s birthday party but I continued to follow her on Facebook and her blog and liked everything she had posted.

In early September, I decided to contact Maggie about a fall portrait session.  I appreciated that Maggie was quick to respond (via email).  I told her I wanted lots of fall colors and she suggested Elawa Farm in Lake Forest.  At first, I was a bit hesitant as I had never been there and thought it would be too far of a drive (I like staying in my city bubble).  But after Maggie showed me the other family portraits that she had done out there and told me there wouldn’t be that many people around, I quickly changed my mind and held the “fate” of our photoshoot location in Maggie’s hands.

Maggie suggested that we have the photoshoot in early November as the colors of the leaves would change by then. When we drove out there to meet Maggie, I was blown away with the farm and its surrounding areas.  I saw so many red, yellow, and orange leaves and immediately fell in love with the place.  Although the drive was somewhat far, it was the perfect time for Luke to nap in the car and to be ready for the shoot.  Maggie was great with Luke….maybe because she’s a natural with kids or that she has a baby boy around Luke’s age, but Luke smiled when she asked and had a great time with her.  Maggie has a good eye as she found the rows of red trees just outside of the farm, which was my favorite location of the day!

Maggie was very patient with us throughout the session.  She even waited for us as we had our second outfit change and told us not to rush.  Not at any time did I feel any stress from the session.  I was very happy to see the finished product and even used some of the pictures for our Christmas card.  I would definitely contact Maggie again for another family session…maybe next time, I will brave it and take a family portrait in the snow…

Below are some of my favorite images from the shoot.

For our first “outfits,” I wanted us to coordinate using the color orange.  I got my dress from Anthropologie’s archival collection (which I think sold out fairly quickly) and paired it with a denim jacket from J.Crew Factory.  For Luke’s outfit, I got the orange puffer vest from Gymboree (similar here).  The patched elbow sweater was from GapKids, jeans and shoes from H&M (similar here).  Oh…and Charlie’s waxed jacket from Barbour.

For our second outfit change, I wanted us to coordinate with different shades of green.  Charlie and Luke had matching Ralph Lauren tops.  Luke’s bowtie – Target and Luke’s cardigan – H&M.  I wore my Frye Jane boots and Barbour field jacket.

I found the Coca-Cola wagon at a flea market a few years ago and have always wanted to use it on a photoshoot.  For this one, I put Luke’s stuffed animals in it…and he actually pulled the wagon!  Photoshoot planning success!