A walk in the park…
When I met the Berman family in the parking lot at Knoch Knolls in Naperville, I could already feel the energy — especially from their oldest daughter, Maddie. Full of excitement and movement, she gave me a big high five, and we embraced that energy right from the start.
As we walked to our first spot, Maddie took off running — which was perfect. We didn’t start with poses or staging; instead, I let her move and settle into the idea that I’d be tagging along, capturing moments as they came. It gave everyone a chance to warm up — including their younger daughter, Lilly, who was more reserved and happy to hang on tight to dad.
(These aren’t the final gallery selects, but I wanted to share a few behind-the-scenes snaps so you can see how relaxed and fun these sessions really are!)
We kicked things off with what I lovingly call the “grandma shot” — the one where everyone’s looking, smiling, and it’s just right for a picture frame. From there, the session began to flow.
We let the girls lead, adjusting to their pace and energy. Maddie loved the wide-open lanes in the field and began initiating running races, which mom graciously joined in on. One of my favorite shots is of her scooping Maddie up from behind — both laughing, completely in the moment.
With Lilly, our approach was quieter. She mostly wanted to be in dad’s arms — so that’s what we captured. Him holding her, twirling her, swaying with her. Nothing forced, just exactly what she needed in that moment.
As the session continued, Lilly began to open up and mimic her sister. She found her own dandelion to blow into the breeze and even joined Maddie in a spontaneous pose — belly down, hands under chin — that had us all laughing. It was unprompted, sweet, and completely them.
The entire session lasted about 45 minutes, but more than once, I found myself simply chatting with Erin and Corey — exchanging parenting tips and summer ideas for the kids — and appreciating how easygoing and present they were.
After the session, I delivered a full online gallery of over 50 high-resolution digital images. When Erin opened the gallery, she messaged me:
“This is amazing! Legit just brought tears to my eyes; you really captured their personalities and our family.”
And that’s exactly the goal.
