It’s a big deal to plan your portraits. Even one session in a year is noteworthy, but let’s be honest. Wouldn’t we all love more? Stick around as I walk you through how Nate and I measure a year on the Eagle Ridge acreage, including simple seasonal activities we look forward to. We’ll help you begin to plan your portraits on the Eagle Ridge acreage.
A Year on the Eagle Ridge Acreage
2021 was a year of growth, both for our family and our home. In 2020 we moved onto the acreage and promptly had a baby, so the stability of 2021 brought many firsts for our whole family.
We continue to see new details almost daily as the seasons pass. In 2021 we loved the gradual shift in seasons, and while we didn’t love the summer drought, we did appreciate the burst of green grass when the rain–and fall—finally arrived.
Every season awakens something new on our acreage. Spring brings baby chicks. Summer—tall pond grasses and flowering milkweed. Fall—a surge of new colors in every direction. And winter—unparalleled stillness. For these reasons, we can’t wait for this year to unfold—and for you to enjoy it all with us.
It has felt so very rewarding to have new families at our acreage after the quiet of 2020. Relationships really do make the world a brighter place, and we’re delighted to have become connected with such charming people.
Here’s a peek at how we take advantage of the seasonal variety our home offers. As you dream of and plan your portraits, we hope you look forward to many of these things at your new home-away-from-home (hint, hint).
Plan Your Portraits
Wondering how to start? Collect a few general ideas that sound exciting or relevant to your family, then schedule a call with me.
January & February : : DREAM
Snow-kissed evergreens, peaceful fields, ice on the pond
March, April, & May : : Awaken
Chicks, wildflowers, fresh mornings, evening bonfires
June, July, & August : : Thrive
Pond grasses, open fields, butterflies, sand box,
one-on-one time with kids, tractor rides, farm fresh eggs
September, October, & November : : Harvest
Red maple, leaf piles, evening bonfires, large family gatherings, pumpkins, cider
November & December : : Gather
First snow, hot cocoa, crunchy leaves, final harvest, candy canes, Christmas trees
The Surprising Reality of Natural Family Portraits
The concept of natural family portraits may seem like a great challenge (or even a joke) to you, especially if you have a highly active free spirit in your family. Your imagination may be very willing to plan your portraits, even as your gut remembers the last time you tried—a mini session, perhaps?—and were disappointed by the process or results. But OH, the kind of portraits that make your heart sing are waiting for you at the Eagle Ridge acreage.
If you’ve had portraits taken before, you know that the session can seem easy at first—until it actually begins. Deciding to plan your portraits is surely for the brave, particularly in our day and age of picture-perfect Instagram feeds and camera phones that trick us into thinking we have comprehensive pictures of our families.
Even in natural portraits there’s still the reality of so many personalities together at one time. It takes courage to plan your portraits if you’re skeptical they’ll turn out well, to pick out lovely clothes and accessories, to imagine your childlike children (go figure) following directions without a grimace—and for more than a few seconds at a time.
Our Goal: Plan Your Portraits Together
This reality—the complex diversity of your family—makes our work a delight and opens the door for your own deep joy.
We’ll tell you more about the logistics of your session in part four of our Beginner’s Guide series (“Plan Your Session”). For now, think about this: Have you accepted the “inevitable” tepid attitude of your kids when you imagine family portraits together? Have you placed limits on what your family can handle during a session, perhaps based on previous experience?
Then you’ve fallen for it, dear friend. And it’s our goal to bring life back to your dream of beautiful portraits around your home. We know that natural portraits—where there’s room for your family to breathe, to play, to be—don’t have to be either rushed or unstructured. We firmly believe everyone in your family can enjoy the freedom of exploring their interests within the context of a plan for portraits, and we can’t wait for you to experience that for yourself.
Now it’s Your Turn
Here are a few questions we hope will renew your dream of natural portraits around your home, and help you begin to consider scheduling your session.
What events are coming up this year for your family?
What are three examples of things you like to do together in each season?
What season does your family most enjoy?
Up Next
This post is #2 of 4 in our introductory series, The Eagle Ridge Experience: A Beginner’s Guide to Natural Family Portraits. Next in our Beginner’s Guide series, we break down our favorite styles of wall art, albums, and keepsakes, including prices. We’ll also walk you through the exact process we use for helping you get exactly what you want from your time with us.
Need to go back to the beginning of the series? Start here. Or, skip to the other posts in the series: How to Plan Your Wall Art and How to Plan Your Session.
Ready to talk? Schedule a free inquiry call with us to brainstorm how we might turn your favorite activities into charming artwork in your hands and on your walls.
