I was so excited when Taylor contacted me about making some baby and family photos at her family’s place on Flathead Lake, because I had photographed her little sister, Kristi’s, senior photos there 7 years prior! Not only that, but I had made a few images of Taylor and Matt during that session, too. And they had only just been dating at the time! Fast forward a few years, and Taylor and Matt are married now and have a darling little baby boy, Maximilian!

Max was 2 months old during our most recent session, and what a little trooper he was! He loved looking at the sky, getting kisses from his doggo siblings, is a huge fan of all of his parents’ smiles and tickles, thinks his Aunt Colleen and Uncle Carter are pretty rad, and got super jazzed when he had the opportunity to stand on the dock (with a little help from his mom). Max wasn’t the biggest fan of hanging out in a bowl of cherries, though it was still pretty cute. (There’s a cherry orchard on the property, and Taylor and Matt told me that it’s become a family tradition to photograph their family’s babies in bowls of cherries.)

As per usual, Flathead Lake and Montana treated us to a gorgeous backdrop with a stunner of a sunset – you know, to put the proverbial cherry on top of the session. (Sorry, not sorry for that pun!)

I could go on and on here, but I’ll let the photos speak for themselves – it was such a special evening with everyone!

Taylor, Matt, Max, Carter and Colleen (and doggos, too!) Thank you so much for a truly delightful session – I loved getting to see you again, and am so glad you got to spend some time introducing little mister Max to Montana! What a sweetheart he is – congrats again!

On the docket:

More portraits! Stay posted!

Cheers,

-Kristine

I always have the best time when photographing Christine and Anders (see proof from their engagement session and wedding), and this time was no different, except for one thing. We got to make their Missoula Montana fall family photos with dogs! Misha, their golden retriever who’s about a year and a half, and Sam, their 12-week-old Australian Shepherd were as cute as cute can be, and the absolute sweetest pups you can imagine.

This was Sam’s first time really exploring beyond his backyard because he’d just gotten his shots. He was a little apprehensive at first since leashes are very big, scary snakes, black cameras are very frightening clicking boxes, and bicyclists are weird, fast humans with wheels. But soon he discovered the magic of pinecones which had him feeling mighty good about life. Misha also did a great job protecting her little sidekick from terrifying yellow school buses with some ferocious (read: very much NOT ferocious) barks, which were immediately accompanied by oodles of tail-wagging. Because Golden Retriever, amiright? ;)

We all had a fantastic time wandering through the woods, and the pups were beyond excited to explore, sniff up all the new scents of the day, and do their best to jump into the nearby creek. They also bestowed upon me loads and loads of puppy hugs and kisses, which nearly had me melting into a happy little pool of photographer joy. Sam was feeling especially lovey-dovey, and couldn’t get enough of Anders – the number of sweet puppy kisses he gave him was absolutely hilarious!

Christine, Anders, Misha and Sam! What a true blast of a family session it was! Thank you again for having me document you two and your darling doggies – I just love getting to work with you, and we for sure need to hit up Big Dipper soon (yay puppy cones!) and grab some beers. :) Here’s to you all and your fabulous family!

On the Docket:

Editorial shoots and weddings! Stay tuned!

Cheers,

-Kristine

I had the pleasure of photographing Margaret and Grant’s wedding last summer, so I knew we’d have a blast again this spring making their Seeley Lake Montana family portraits, this time with their puppy, Teddy the St. Bernard in tow! (Though he’s already a very big boy!)

I met up with them at their family cabin on a (chilly!) spring day in June, and, as it happens in Montana, we got a little bit of everything as far as weather goes – but the best thing is that Margaret, Grant and Teddy were totally open to making it work and going with the flow.

We began our session in the woods outside their cabin, and were serenaded by some chatty Sandhill Cranes as Margaret and Grant strolled along the pathways around the property. As we headed to a spot where massive numbers of lupine were in bloom (and I mean massive – it was a sea of purple!), the sky became a little darker, the wind picked up, and just as they stepped out into the field, Mother Nature unleashed a sky-full of graupel on us.

But instead of being forlorn at the change in the weather, we all just laughed our heads off and went with it – which is always the best way to be, in my opinion. And what fun images we made because of that! Margaret’s hair and dress were catching the wind with great, dramatic flair, Grant was laughing at his hands full of graupel, and my hair was totally covered in it. Hilarious!

As is the saying in Montana: “Don’t like the weather? Wait five minutes.” And sure enough, as we chased the nearest opening in the clouds we were treated to faint rainbows and beautiful light peeking through the gray.

Soon the sun began to sink and turn the sky a pinky-purple, so we decided to make some portraits of Teddy on his own. And oh my gosh – I laughed so. dang. HARD. Turns out Teddy loves a little keep-away game with the camera and he made a series of THE most hilarious faces as he ran circles around me. What a hoot! It’s moments like these that I absolutely love, and I swear, all our faces were a little sore after that episode because we had all been smiling and laughing so hard.

Margaret, Grant and Teddy! What an evening! Thank you so much (as always) for being so completely wonderful to work with – and ohmygosh, Teddy – what a little (wait a second – big!) sweetheart! I’m so happy we got to make these images for you all, and thank you again for the Coldsmoke surprise (so thoughtful of you!). Always love me some good Kettlehouse beer. :) Cheers to you all!

On the docket:

Weddings and elopements and portraits! Stay tuned!

Cheers,

-Kristine