The Ford Family | Northwest Arkansas Family Photography

Life is beautiful. And this time of year, that beauty is especially evident in the emerging fall colors and the family photos that include them. But that doesn't mean life is always fun or easy. Meet the Ford family. They're a wonderful family with 3 kids (Joe, Jackson and Audrey), who happen to be triplets. But that little part about life not being easy became reality when all 3 kids were born premature at 26 weeks. The kids pulled through but towards the end of their stay in NICU, Audrey suffered from two different infections at the same time and barely survived. During that time, she sustained a permanent brain injury due to the inconsistent flow of blood to her brain. Her official diagnosis is Cerebral Palsy and Cortical Visual Impairment.

It's easy to get overwhelmed with medical terms and restrictions and in the process, forget that a person is a person like you and like me. When the Ford's emailed me details of Audrey's history and diagnosis, that particular paragraph in the email was followed by a paragraph describing her as "the silliest little girl". She loves to laugh and smile and she loves to be around kids her age. She loves sweets too. In fact, she's going to be "cotton candy" for halloween this year.

What's even more amazing to me is how this family overcomes the obstacles and limits and has a life that I would call very normal and active. For photos, we went on a hike and everywhere we went, all three kids went too. My time with this wonderful family was a sweet reminder of how a hard story can also be a beautiful story.

The Kendall Family | Northwest Arkansas Family Photography

Meet the Kendall Family, a family of four plus 2 dogs. And what do they do for fun? They go to their lake house. So where did we go for their photo shoot? Their lake house. For us, this was a lesson in how a family photo shoot should be for everyone. Instead of shooting, we hung out. Of course we created images, but the dynamic between the photographer and the subject was the key. We were there to get to know them, to learn a little bit about what makes them tick and to allow them to just enjoy a couple hours of someone documenting their life in an environment they were comfortable in. The resulting images were memorable, for them and for us. Here's a few favorites. Enjoy. Read More

Family Portraits, Recent WorkNovo StudioNovember 28, 2012Northwest Arkansas Family Portraits, Northwest Arkansas Lifestyle Photography, Novo Studio

The Koehler Family | Crystal Bridges Family Photography

Lindsay Koehler is a fellow photographer from Conway Arkansas. (http://lindsaykoehlerphotography.com) She creates stunningly beautiful images of families and kids. And yet, it had been a loooooooooong time since she and her wonderful family had been in front of the camera themselves. So we decided to hang out at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art on an evening when there was no one else around and create some memorable images. Here's a few of our favorites.