In my opinion, there’s nothing better than getting to make Missoula lifestyle family photos, especially when you have the opportunity to work with folks as delightful as Jennie, Terre, Clara, Riley, Erin, Iona and Thea are. Erin and Riley and their daughters Iona, 5, and Thea, 4, were visiting his parents and sister in Missoula, and we even managed to include Jennie and Terre’s dogs, Zephyr, Pippin, and Clara’s dog, Skadi in their photos!  It was such a treat to capture the genuine essence of this super sweet family — and, to top it all off, we enjoyed a nice little sprinkle of fairies and magic, too. (I’m always a fan of that!)

As a photographer, I am constantly inspired by the beauty of nature and the imaginative hearts of children. During their family session, the kiddos stole the show as they informed me that tiny purple fairies lived in my camera. According to Iona, they vary in height between 1/8″ to 1/2″ tall. And, as we discovered together, the fairies got super excited when the kids smiled at me, as if their purply fairy magic intensified with the girls’ joy. Thea, especially, was so sweet as she peered intently into my lens, waiting for the fairy to show up. (And they did! She confirmed they were purple.)

The afternoon was filled with laughter and nostalgia as the family recreated their cherished tradition of hanging out on the porch, sipping coffee, and basking in the warmth of togetherness. The girls all picked a beautiful bouquet of wildflowers together, and to my surprise, they kindly gifted it to me — a touching gesture that just filled my heart to the brim!

Our adventure didn’t stop there. The children’s curiosity led us to search for baby grasshoppers, and Skadi, Clara’s playful pup, happily joined in the fun, chasing Thea around the yard. The energy was contagious as everyone laughed together, enjoying the hilarity of Skadi and Thea.

Opa and Oma, the doting grandparents, were great sports and let the girls “surprise” them and whisper secrets into their ears. Oma even helped the girls pick berries from one of their trees, and Thea loved counting out her treasures with Oma.

We all dissolved in laughter as Thea adopted a new funny phrase, “flower toot!” And that laughter continued as it became apparent (according to Thea and Iona) that I had both spiders AND fairies dancing around in my hair!

Just in time, we finished our session right before a big thunderstorm rolled in. This super sweet family truly embodied the magic of togetherness and imagination, and I feel incredibly grateful to have been part of their story. Thank you again for a beautifully real, love-filled session!

On the docket:

Lots more portraits! Stay posted!

Cheers,

-Kristine

The third time was the charm for Lauren, Garrick, Quinn, and Burke’s snowy Missoula family photos! The weather had a mind of its own and kept misbehaving and raining, but things got a bit colder and turned to snow, so we went for it, and were treated to that in-between time in the autumn where the leaves are still brilliantly colored, but there’s snow on the ground.

Quinn, nearly 3, was a big fan of the colliding seasons and had a blast playing in the leaves, while also making a (face-down!) snow angel and some snow balls. She was absolutely beyond excited for our photo session and was all about running hither thither and yon. She especially loved racing her parents and playing red light-green light.

It was a bit breezy the day of our session, so baby Burke (8 weeks old) remained bundled up and cozy in his chariot until he made a fashionably late entrance to participate in some family photos. He was a trooper and wasn’t too upset to be removed from his cozy cocoon, and was exceptionally curious about what Quinn was up to.

Quinn also showed us how to best throw rocks into the creek, and how to balance on wobbly rocks in her new boots! When she wasn’t throwing rocks, she was busy bargaining with her dad to be tossed high into the sky to catch some air. And did she ever! She was absolutely thrilled and full of giggles afterwards.

Lauren, Garrick, Quinn, and Burke! Thank you again for braving the chilly weather and bringing the joy and warmth to your session! It was an absolute delight to get to photograph your family and be treated to so many smiles and laughs with you all. Cheers to your fantastic family!

On the docket:

More portraits! Be sure to stay tuned!

Cheers,

-Kristine

There’s absolutely nothing, nothing, like getting to connect again and work with couples whose weddings I’ve photographed, especially when you get to meet their sweeter than sweet kiddos! Hanging out with Sarah and Justin for their Missoula Montana summertime family photos seriously felt like it was only yesterday that I’d photographed their wedding. And I’m so glad I was able to catch up with them during their Missoula visit!

Their daughters, Elise, 6, and Isabelle, almost 3, were so cute in their matching dresses, and we managed to find some purple flowers for them to frolic in — talk about perfection! Purple is Isabelle’s favorite color, and, after getting acclimated to some very tall grass, she was all about checking out the blooms.

Elise loved showing me how beautifully she twirled in the sun, and the whole family got some great laughs as the resident winery dog “sang” to us through a very hilarious series of howls! (Elise and Isabelle loved imitating his howling, which had us all in stitches!)

Grandma and Grandpa (abuelita and abuelito) even got to join in for a few photos, and everyone helped sing some songs to me that I “absolutely needed to hear” and had “definitely never ever heard before ever in my life…ever ever.” The smokey the bear song was a treat! I think Rockin’ Robin might have made an appearance, too!

Elise told me some stellar jokes, the girls both loved dancing on a few big rocks we discovered (can you guess the image below that I swear is going to be Isabelle and Elise’s next save-the-world movie poster?), and both Elise and Isabelle are living proof that girls and dresses and backhoes and sandboxes are the perfect mix. I got to play in the sand, too, at Elise’s request. (“You need to stop taking photos and play with us!” she insisted. Twist my arm, sweet girl!)

Elise and I took a little stroll together to go look for birds in a nearby field. We walked the dirt road and she gently brushed her fingertips against the sun-kissed tips of the swaying grass. We also had a blast making images of Sarah and Justin together in that same field! (Did I mention it feels like only yesterday we were making photos of the two of them as newlyweds! Oh, time — how she flies!)

Towards the end of our session, Elise and Isabelle giggled gleefully together in a rope hammock as Sarah and Justin rocked them back and forth. Elise looked at me and exclaimed at the top of her lungs, “We’re going to send you a gift! It will be CHOCOLATE!” “Chocolate?!” I asked. To which Isabelle added, “AND POPSICLES!” I’ve never been offered such a thoughtful gift, and I seriously can’t wait to have chocolate and popsicles mailed to me. They’re definitely girls after my own heart.

Sarah and Justin! What a hands-down, absolute treat to get to see you again and meet your darling girls. (And see your folks again, too, of course!) Your session nearly made my heart burst with happiness, and I can’t wait for our next “play date,” as Elise put it. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for bringing so much love and joy to our time together that evening! Chocolate and popsicles and summertime hammock giggles forever!

On the docket:

Lots more portraits! Don’t miss ’em!

Cheers,

-Kristine

The ultimate compliment to me is getting to photograph families over the years and watch them grow together. I absolutely love getting to capture Flathead Lake family photos with Tim, Courtney, Teddy, and Violet. It’s been a couple years since I last saw them (heyo, pandemic times), but it felt like we hadn’t missed a beat in how we all hang out with each other. I just love their fun, spontaneous energy, especially when it involves some family “Twister” moves, haha!

Eight-year-old Teddy and five-year-old Violet were eager to show me some of their gymnastic talents on their swing set (and on Tim, too)! The kiddos were extra curious about one of my big ol’ lenses, so we had a blast making some ultra up close and personal shots of them.

Violet was an expert twirler in her pretty dress, and Teddy got the whole family engaged in kicking a ball around to show off some soccer techniques. Both kids got some major airtime as Tim tossed them high into the sky, and there were plenty of tickles, giggles and hilarity to make everyone dissolve into fits of laughter.

It wasn’t particularly warm that day since a storm was threatening, but Violet, brave as ever, convinced Tim to jump in the lake with her to top off our session together. And then she did it again! (Major props to you, Violet!)

Tim, Courtney, Teddy, and Violet — thank you so much for bringing your full, wonderful selves to your session, and for always leaving me with a brimming heart and a face that hurts from smiling (that’s the BEST thing!). I adore your family dynamic so much!

On the docket:

Weddings and portraits! Stay tuned!

Cheers,

-Kristine

I am always so happy when I hear from Kristan, Ben, Lincoln, and Cormac that they’re back in town visiting, and that we get to make more Missoula summer family photos at the University of Montana for them! I’ve been photographing their family for several years now, and it is always an absolute delight to get to hang out with them, laugh together, and document their wonderful family!

This year we decided to hike up the “M” trail a bit, explore the grasses, and have a blast laughing our heads off as we yelled Lincoln’s favorite funny words. (I’ll let you guess what a five-year-old boy might choose. )

We ventured back down to check out the peonies that were in full, splendid bloom, made ur way onto campus to cool off a bit, and enjoyed some time wandering around, racing each other, exploring cool bike racks that were perfect for 22-month-old Cormac to crawl through, and of course, the check out the wonders of steps and railings around the various buildings.

Cormac was particularly interested in investigating pine cones, Lincoln loved climbing the various rocks and other structures, and both boys are total pro speed racers!

We topped off our session with a visit to the grizzly statue on the Oval. Cormac was intent on holding its paw, while Lincoln performed a drum session for us on the bear’s thighs. Everyone joined in for a good family “roar” together, (again, Lincoln and Cormac are total roaring pros), and that was a wrap on another absolutely wonderful session with their family.

Kristan, Ben, Lincoln, and Cormac! Thank you for being your wonderful selves, for your curiosity and joy, and for always sharing the biggest and best laughs with me! Yay for you all!

On the docket:

Portraits and weddings – stay tuned!

Cheers,

-Kristine

Way back in November of last year, Greg reached out to me about making Hamilton Montana family photos of him, his wife, Mary, and their son Jeremiah — and he booked the session as a surprise Christmas present for Mary. Fast forward a bit, and we planned on photographing sometime in spring, but it rained and rained and rained, and I think we had to reschedule something like six times! However, even with all those reschedules and rain delays, serendipity was on our side, and we experienced the most gorgeous evening together. The wildflowers were even still in bloom due to our wet, cold spring.

I met up with Greg, Mary, and Jeremiah on their 92 acre property outside of Hamilton, and as I parked my car at the their house, five-year-old Jeremiah came running up to me telling me that he had a gift for me! And out he thrust a little fist full of wildflowers he’d picked for me. I about melted of happiness on the spot right then and there. Suffice it to say that this was just the start of many, many delightful moments during our session together!

Jeremiah was incredibly excited about the photos and had all sorts of ideas for me. (As Mary said, “He’s five going on 30!”) He was our official tour guide, and he would take my hand, and lead me around to show off his favorite “shortcuts.” Bodie, their Rhodesian ridgeback, also joined us for some photos, too!

We had a blast finding the most perfect wildflowers and views, giggling and laughing and being silly, discovering dancing caterpillars, playing hide and seek in lupine, making flower petal confetti, turning into tigers in the tall grass, and even racing down their gravel road (Jeremiah definitely won that race with me, haha!).

What an absolutely delightful session! My heart was just soaring during and after, and I’m so glad we finally got to make these photos together! Thank you again, Greg, Mary, and Jeremiah! Your family is so delightful, and it was an absolute joy to capture these moments for you!

On the docket:

Portraits and weddings galore — stay posted!

Cheers,

-Kristine

It was another great session with the Simons family for their Missoula fall family pictures — the only season we hadn’t hit yet in all our photo sessions together! And we totally lucked out with quintessential Montana fall colors during our shoot. Which, thankfully, took place after Missoula’s mosquito population had diminished, and before Missoula’s early October snowstorm and negative temperatures surprised us all. I think we may have threaded the needle there, haha!

Our session was filled with pinecone hunting, skipping in the sun, climbing logs, tossing rocks, investigating colorful trees and their bright leaves, walks along the river, and, as per usual, lots of laughter!

Even Brayden, who was just starting to take his first steps but had a small cold that day, was a trooper and wowed us all with his infectious giggles and giant smiles!

The boys were so sweet together, and I loved the moments we got to capture with them as brothers being brothers. Is there anything better than smiles between siblings?

Everyone got their own closeup, too — including Becka and Stephan. I know parents oftentimes don’t get to have their very own images when they’re typically the ones capturing their everyday adventures, so I’m glad we got to take a few moments and make these special images, too.

Thank you again, Simons family, for a supremely delightful session! I know I say this every time, but it’s always true – you are such a blast to photograph and I just love making images for you to capture all the stages of your life together. Here’s to you all!

On the Docket:

Portraits! Stay posted!

Cheers,

-Kristine

I was so excited when Dana got in touch with me again about doing another Missoula Montana mother and son session with her 8-year-old boy, Will, because we’d had such a wonderful time together during our first session three years ago!

Will’s grown so much, and much like our first session, he’s a boy who’s curious and excited about life, loves the outdoors, adores his mother, and still retains a fascination with sticks and rocks and all the cool things we can find in the woods.

It was so fun to see his imagination at play (at one point he created some “bike handlebars” from two sticks he he held together), and he had all sorts of interesting things to share with us as we meandered about the woods and water. He even had the lofty goal to build a bridge across the river solely using wet pebbles, and he was able to create a nice walking platform that was about two feet long before we explained that we might save that bridge-building goal for another day.

Will also still loves climbing trees and found all the best nooks and crannies to explore – he even came across some nifty bugs to show us, too!

At one point, as we were wandering around, Will happened upon a little depression in the soil. It spoke to him and soon he was pretending to be a grizzly bear, rolling around in the depression and even growling and grinning for the camera, too, up close and personal, which had us all in stitches!

Will and Dana! Thank you again for such a treat of a session – I just love getting to spend time with the two of you documenting you both as you are. Both you and Will always leave me with the fullest of hearts and the biggest of smiles! Thank you thank you thank you!

On the Docket:

Weddings, elopements and portraits! Stay posted!

Cheers,

-Kristine

I recently photographed Becka and Stephan’s maternity photos, so I was beyond excited to get to meet little mister Brayden to make his Lolo Montana newborn images – and he did fabulously during his session at only 13 days new!

He did a most excellent job of demonstrating his eating, snuggling, yelling and finger-grabbing abilities and had us all enraptured with his sweet little face and adorable tiny fingers and toes.

Even Daisy the family dog got to pop in for a few images too – I think Brayden is a dog-whisperer at heart!

One of the most amazing things about newborn sessions is getting to watch my past couples turn into parents (I’ve photographed Becka and Stephan’s family session, wedding, rock the dress session, maternity session and now Brayden’s newborn images!). Stephan and Becka are naturals and Brayden’s big brothers, Brodee and Blayz clearly love their new little brother too (including making sure he gets initiated with some big-brother nose boops!).

Thanks again Becka, Stephan, Brodee, Blayz, Brayden and Daisy for such a sweet session! I always love getting to photograph your family and I’m so excited to have been able to document Brayden’s newborn stage – here’s to capturing all the milestones for you over the years! And congrats again on your newest addition! What a little love Brayden is!

On the docket:

All sorts of weddings, elopements, and portraits! Stay posted!

Cheers,

-Kristine

As per usual, it was another fabulous session with the Bradley family for their fall family photos in Missoula Montana. I’ve been making photos for them for quite some time now (since 2010 actually – has it really been 8 years?! holy moly time flies!). And it’s always just so fun to see the kids grow up and change right in front of my camera.

Mother Nature treated us to an absolute stunner of an autumn day for their session – the sun was brilliant, the leaves had just begun to turn shades of golden, orange, and red, and we had a great time meandering around to find some fun little spots for their family portraits.

I love to see how Christy, Alan, Wynter, Kaely, Hakaru, and Joss all interact with one another – they are seriously the sweetest family and I can tell there’s just so much love here. Especially between all the kiddos which is so impressive to me. They were all about throwing in a few tickles to help aid in smiles, and were quick to have fun with piggyback rides when the mood struck.

I still can’t believe just how much the kids have grown – Kaely and Wynter are 12, (twelve!!) already and boasting some seriously cool style, Hakaru is 10 and full of all sorts of fascinating information that he shared with me as we walked around, and Joss is now a grown up 4-year-old. She had a blast demonstrating her most excellent hopping skills for all of us, which, of course, had us all laughing!

Christy, Alan, Kaely, Wynter, Hakaru and Joss – thank you so much for another lovely session! I know I’ve said this a bazillion times to you already, but I just absolutely love getting to document your beautiful family. I always leave our sessions with a giant smile on my face, which continues straight on into my editing. So thank you for having me document your family once again! :)

On the Docket:

Portraits, weddings and editorial shoots! Don’t miss ’em!

Cheers,

-Kristine