{Disclaimer: BurlingtonVT Moms Blog has partnered with Sweet Events Photography for this sponsored post. While we received a form of compensation for this post, the opinions expressed are entirely my own!}

Sometimes you are just lucky and something surprisingly awesome happens.

That’s how I feel about our first ever family photo shoot, which took place recently with the delightful, talented Elysha Thurston of Sweet Events Photography. I am not exaggerating when I say here that Ang and I had been dreading the anticipated chaos, stress, and possible futility of getting our twin 22-month olds to participate functionally in a professional photo shoot. We had photos done when they were in the NICU, and when they were about 8 months old we dolled everyone up and schlepped them to a scheduled appointment at a chain portrait studio only to be told that “the camera isn’t working today” as we cleaned poop off one baby and vomit off another.

That disaster had pretty much soured me on trying to do professional photos again anytime soon, but as time went by I began to wish we had some beautiful, high-quality photos of C. and B. to give as gifts and hang in our home instead of all our blurry smartphone Facebook pics. Then the kids’ school asked us to bring in a picture of the 4 of us for a project and I realized we only had one, an awkward candid my mom snapped last Christmas. This is what happens when you have young twins: you have no family photos because both parents are always baby wrangling. It was time. I reached out to Elysha, who lives close to us in Central Vermont, and hoped there would be less poop and vomit this time around.

From my first contact with Elysha, I felt confident that we were in the right hands.

The work featured on her website is stunning, and evokes exactly the kind of authentic, natural sweetness that I hoped would be captured in professional photos. Elysha was extremely responsive and flexible, and let me know right away that she had secured the beautiful Paquet Farm in Barre as the setting for our shoot. I was so excited! She asked if we needed any help with selecting outfits (we did) and sent along a great article and some “sample wardrobe” galleries to help me sort out what kind of clothing would look natural, bring out our best, and photograph well. Also, she asked me if it would be ok to bring some apples and small candies to keep the kids happy during the session. YES! BRILLIANT! This is what you get when your photographer is a mom of little ones herself.

The day of the shoot was a bit hectic for us, as I had a volunteer obligation in the AM and we were on a tight time frame to get the kids up from nap, snacked, dressed, and to the farm. Everyone was fairly grumpy and low blood sugar upon arrival, and I was nervous. Elysha was there to greet us, and had brought an assistant “because I figured we could use help with two toddlers”. (Did I mention how much having a photog who is a mom helps? Because YES.) She had set up a few locations for shots (hay bales with pumpkins, a blanket in the middle of a stunning pasture), but of course B. and C. had their own agenda and made a beeline for the pallets of pumpkins they spotted next to our car. Elysha saw their exuberance and just started shooting, capturing one of my favorite shots of the day:

Elysha was sweet and playful with the kids, and I gradually felt my shoulders loosen and realized that if she wasn’t too worried about getting them “posed” perfectly, than I didn’t need to be either. So off we all went, meandering about the farm, smiling and walking and taking light direction from Elysha. Each time the four of us were together, I would find myself trying to pose, but Elysha wasn’t waiting for “perfect”, she was just shooting us as we were. The twins were really wander-y, and Ang and I just kind of trailed them around, trying to let them explore and have fun instead of forcing them into sitting still and mugging. There were many breaks for runny noses or a bite of candy, and at least one serious face plant. I was wondering if Elysha was getting anything “useful” of us at when she said she had some great shots and that was a wrap. I remember thinking “Really? We were so discombobulated. How could she have gotten anything ‘good’?”

Well, she got them because she is good at what she does.

The first “sneak peak” images she sent me a few days later took my breath away.

Somehow, in the midst of the production it is to take to twin toddlers to a giant farm in clean clothes , Elysha managed to capture the sweetness of each of us, and of all of us together. I literally could not believe the images that came from this shoot. Not only do I recommend her unequivocally, I cannot wait to ask Elysha to do our next family photos. Thank you, Sweet Events Photography!

Ready for a chance to win your own family photo session?! Elysha is giving one of YOU a chance to win! Just enter the giveaway below and good luck!

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