You'd love to have a family portrait session that fully captures who you are, how you connect, and how much affection surfaces when all the members of your family are present within the camera frame.

We're happy to capture your family in our studio, complete with gorgeous light and minimal distractions, or in your comfy-cozy home full of familiar toys and routines. No matter where our session takes place, we'll delight in your delight. And we'll encourage you to pay attention to one another instead of the camera, because there's no 'add happy' button in Photoshop.

We don't care whether you're barefoot or wearing fuzzy slippers, and we won't be sending over a twenty-page list of suggestions about what to wear. (We can make you look beautiful in sweat pants if you love each other.) We just want to capture your family. Your habits, your quirks, and your love. Die-hard beach goers? World travelers? Animal lovers? Trekkies? We wanna see it. And when you view the images we've created together for the first time, we want the depth of love you feel for your family to grab you by the collar and bring tears to your eyes.

The video below provides a peek at how portrait sessions unfold. If you have questions or would like to schedule a portrait session, click on the 'Contact' link above or call 215-206-3689. Oh -- and thanks for stopping by, lovely!

-- Kristen & Haunani, Essential Imagery owners

P.S. That's Kristen up in the header -- Haunani is camera-shy.

TRUE CONFESSIONS, PART 1

While I’m gone, I figured I’d leave you with a bit of backstory about my ending up as a photographer. Because, you know, sometimes people ask.

The year: 2003.

The place: Indiana University of Pennsylvania

2003-me (see photo) was hired to work with the Robert E. Cook Honors College for their summer program, and was (obviously) assigned to work with the Education bunch. This made sense, as I was a few months from having my English Education degree, and I knew the professor teaching the summer course rather well.

Big Sign From the Universe Number One: I BEGGED to be a part of the Fine Art classes for those few weeks. They were dealing with darkroom processing of various film formats while studying a bit of art history with respect to photography.

The begging didn’t work. I stuck out the Education course with some lovely students, longing all the while to be learning photographic techniques and shooting crazy-awesome images.

Big Sign From the Universe Number Two: I hated each and every education job I accepted. Sure, I learned to deal with all sorts of behavioral issues and to identify at least three significant learning disorders within five minutes of meeting a child. I also got steamrolled by my near-constant disagreements with my ‘superiors’ with regards to what would be best for my students. (Being on the students’ side is a big huge negative in education land, folks.)

Luckily, I had accepted employment with the most challenging school within 50 miles of my home. No, really. Trust me on this one. Misery set in rather quickly, but I wasn’t going to give up. Statistically, I read, Special Education burnout wasn’t supposed to set in for another three years.

I was, apparently, as miserable as eating popcorn made me at age one. (See above.) Statistically, I told myself, I shouldn’t have been coming home from work crying 4 out of 5 nights a week. I shouldn’t have been constantly exhausted or searching Craigslist ads for a new job — ANY new job — the minute I woke up. But that’s the way it was going. And then…well, then Craigslist saved me.

Tune in on Monday, when I tell you how.