I first met Rachel and Thom back when they were in high school. I was working as an art teacher right out of college at their school. I coached volleyball with Thom’s mom and Rachel was one of our players. They were dating then and the epitome of the sweetest teenage couple there ever was. Flash forward a whole lot of years and they’re married now and just welcomed their sweet son Grady into the world this year. He’s pretty close in age to my youngest and it was so much fun to shoot this Ann Arbor family session, capturing every changing expression and motion from him.

I shoot fall sessions in Michigan every year, yet this year was the most confusing of all the fall seasons I’ve ever shot. This is true for Indianapolis, too. I normally block out my week of Ann Arbor sessions for the time of year that seems to be peak fall foliage for the area. Of course, it varies slightly from year to year, but this is my first year experiencing almost no change in the leaves for these sessions. For every session, we had to hunt down whatever color we could, but things were still pretty green. I swear these images were shot in October and not September, though it just goes to show you that you can never fully rely on Mother Nature. She’ll surprise you when you least expect it.

It was so great to see Rachel and Thom in this stage of their lives. As a teacher, it’s always really heartwarming to see students later on in life when they’ve become adults, started a family, or gotten their dream job. It’s so exciting to have conversations with them where you can relate on an entirely new level and get to know them all over again. These two have built a beautiful life together from a foundation they created more than 10 years ago. They’re two of the kindest, happiest people and their personalities are each reflected in sweet Grady’s demeanor. That smile you see right below here? That’s how he started out our session (and finished it, too) and it’s the same smile that’s on each of Rachel and Thom’s faces. Thank you for having me, Box family! It was absolutely wonderful to see you both and meet your newest family member!