Waiting for Elin | The Lewis Family | Greenwood Family Photographer

December 02, 2015 in Family, Children

I was connected with the Lewis family through another client (shout out to the Hauser's!!). After a quick phone conversation with Monica (mom) to set up the session, I knew immediately that this was going to be the beginning of a wonderful relationship. On the phone, I quickly discovered that they are in the process of adopting from abroad. China to be exact. Adoption can be a long, frustrating, emotional, drawn-out process - and not to mention all of the costs involved. I was instantly intrigued with her story and their passion for adopting.

Our connection lies in the fact that I too am adopted. My parents waited over 3 years for me and I was lucky to be adopted during infancy. Adoption is part of our family - my dad was adopted; my aunt was adopted, and my uncle was adopted. Adoption changes lives and brings families together - something I will forever be grateful for.

Back to the Lewis family. They currently have two boys: Emery (11) and Asher (8). They are really funny and outgoing boys - love sports and just playing around. I felt like I was looking into my own future with two energetic boys bouncing all over the place. I will say, they were much easier to photograph than toddlers - they actually did great and followed my directions! It was such a fun session with them!

The Lewis' love their boys, and they are hoping to add to the love in their house. They are currently waiting for Elin, their little girl they are hoping to adopt. They have not been matched yet, but they gave their future daughter a name so that they could pray for her by name. Monica's tie to adoption first starts with her great grandmother Aggie who adopted Monica's grandma, who was abandoned at a young age. If not for her great grandmother Aggie's loving heart and openness, the family's chain would look severely different.

Then Monica was 22 years old - a student traveling to Belize, Rotan, Hong Kong, China and Thailand. It was there she saw such a great need to help less fortunate children. Orphans. She left there saying that she'd be back someday. And that someday has come. The Lewis' family faith in God through this whole endeavor is inspiring. They knew they wanted to adopt someday, but financially they did not know if they could afford it. No, they didn't win the lottery - they are putting it all in God's hands and they know that He will not fail them. With the love from God and support from their friends and family, they will bring Elin home.

Thank you so much to the Lewis family for sharing your story with me - it hits home in my heart and I pray with you that you bring Elin home as soon as possible.

If you want to help the Lewis family out in any way, please contact me and I can get you in touch.

With that, I present to you, the Lewis family - Monica, Nathan, Emery and Asher. Next time I photograph them, hopefully Elin will be the star of the show (:

Kelly Martin Photography offers custom on-location lifestyle and portrait professional photography services in Indianapolis and surrounding areas. Session types include family, newborn, maternity, children, couples, engagement, seniors, lifestyle and more! Real. Creative. Personalized.

If you are looking for a family or children's photographer, please contact me at kellymartinphotos@gmail.com or 765-749-4388.

A Hrivnak Holiday Session | Maplelawn Farmstead | Zionsville Family Photographer

November 29, 2015 in Children, Family, Holiday

I had the privilege to photograph my good friends, the Hrivnak's, a few weeks ago. They wanted a holiday-themed session, so we met at Maplelawn Farmstead in Zionsville to see what we could cook up. First, their outfits were perfect - coordinated and cute and classy - loved it! Second, Dustin and Esha have the CUTEST little boy, Aneesh, and he actually seems to like my camera. (: I don't always get that lucky. (:

The Hrivnak's were one of the first families I photographed during my portfolio-building stage - we had a great session back in May for Aneesh's first birthday. I will always be indebted to them for trusting me back then when I was getting started and for sticking with me. We already planned a session for Aneesh's 2nd birthday pictures so we all are already excited for that!

Back to the holiday session: I'm in love with so many of the photos - the Hrivnak's are so laid back and playful during our sessions - the love between them just radiates. Their happiness + the sunset light = one amazing session.

If you are looking for a family or children's photographer, please contact me at kellymartinphotos@gmail.com or 765-749-4388.

Extreme Family Photos | The Luchon Crew | Ogden Gardens

November 13, 2015 in Children, Family

I was a bit nervous and completely excited about my first big family shoot. I was going to be visiting my hometown of Valparaiso for a few days in October while my eldest son was on fall break from preschool, and during that visit I was able to schedule a multi-family shoot with the Luchon's. 10 adults and 9 kids. I even decided I needed an assistant for the job so I persuaded my Aunt Debi to help - mainly to entertain the kids and keep them looking at the camera. (: She did great by the way - wish she lived in Indy!!

I know one of the Luchon sons (Eric) from working with him at a local grocery store way back when and I also took his family's photos back in September. That led me to this gig. Again - I was so excited to meet this crew and see how the shoot would play out. And let me tell you - everything went awesome. The weather was great, the kids all behaved, and I feel the big "extreme family photo" (their words, not mine) was a success.

So, you want to meet them?? We start our tale with Mimi & Papa (Keith & Christine).

They had four children: Eric, Audrey, Austin, & Alex

Eric was the first and he married the lovely Samantha. They have three beautiful girls - Corbin, Lily & Ivy.

Audrey was the second born. Her and her husband, Ethan, have two handsome little boys, Gabriel and Henry. Henry could not keep his tongue in his mouth - SO cute!

Next was Alex. He and his wife, Sarah, win the kid award with four: Vincent, Tiffany, AJ, & Harrison. Vincent was so sweet to his siblings and seemed to actually enjoy getting photographed; Tiffany was a bit shy but super sweet; AJ seemed like the wildman of the bunch; and Harrison just learned to walk so he was a man on the move.

The youngest of the Luchon's is Austin. He and his girlfriend Shelby live in Chicago.

Large families truly are a blessing. My husband is one of four and it's rare that all four kids and their families are at the same place at the same time. But when the stars align, my in-laws light up. I saw the same in the Luchon's that day. When you gather all of these people, that pretty much are together (or even exist) because of one strong, everlasting marriage between two people - it's pretty amazing to see. Keith and Christine are very proud parents and very loving grandparents. The next picture was my personal favorite - these boys obviously love their papa. (:

Last came the group photos - lets wrangle 19 people and pose them, make them smile at the same time, and keep them interested as I rattle off 100 shots - easy peasy. And the "just kids" shot - picture 12 adults making crazy sounds, shouting at the various kids, making funny faces - just pure chaos. Love it...

I sincerely thank the Luchon family for allowing me to take part in their "extreme family photos" and I hope to maybe do it again someday.

If you are looking for a family or children's photographer, please contact me at kellymartinphotos@gmail.com or 765-749-4388.

Bold & Beautiful | The Zulkowski Family | Indianapolis Family Photographer

November 07, 2015 in Family, Children, First Birthday

This was the first session that I ever had to postpone due to rain. I don't think it had rained significantly in about 5 weeks and then it had to pour on the day I had a session scheduled with the Zulkowski's - a session that had been on the calendar for months. It honestly was the best thing that could have happened because we rescheduled for the next morning and it. was. gorgeous. The colors. The light. One happy family with happy kids. (:

This session was held at Glenns Valley Nature Park on the south side of Indy. I had a session there a few weeks prior and the leaves had not started to change much. Fast forward 3 weeks later and it was transformed into a fall wonderland. I think the photos speak for themselves!

Like many of my clients, I met Mandy (mom) in the accounting world. We both worked at Adayana, the last job I had before leaving to stay home with my boys. We were bonded by stories of motherhood, babies, pregnancy. Her two boys, Jax and Kai, are only about 16 months apart so I think Mandy was pregnant pretty much the whole time I worked with her. (: And when she wasn't pregnant, I was. Her and her husband also have two older daughters, Randi and Jessi. They are such a help with the boys and also so gorgeous. I asked Mandy if I could borrow them to help with my kids - sounds like they are a little too busy for that. (:

Kai celebrated his first birthday in September so the family brought some fun props. He was a ham!! I LOVE photographing one year-olds!!

The rock of the family - the parents but first and foremost, husband and wife.

A HUGE thank you to the Zulkowski's for a fantastic morning!

If you are looking for a family or children's photographer, please contact me at kellymartinphotos@gmail.com or 765-749-4388.

Fall Mini Sessions | West Park, Carmel | Carmel Family Photographer

November 02, 2015 in Fall Mini Sessions, Family, Children

On October 17th I held my first fall mini sessions of the season at West Park in Carmel. I had two families join me on that chilly, bright sunny day: The Kerrigan's and the Babbs.

The Kerrigan's were referred to me by our good friends the Landrigan's (they were one of my first clients and haven't hit the blog yet - stay tuned for that). Mary and Adam have a very active 2 year-old, Isaac, and another boy on the way. I'm honored they also chose me to be their newborn photographer when #2 arrives in December (due on Christmas day!!). What a Christmas blessing for this family (:

My second session of the day was the Babbs Family. They are ironically also good friends with the Landrigan's but we also all know each other from a marriage prep course we facilitate called One in Christ. We facilitated with the Babbs at the October session and I was able to talk them into a mini (: Sarah and her husband Eric have an almost 5 year-old girl Maggie and almost 2 year-old twins Charlie and Mary Cate. The kids had fun posing (the girls) and running around (Charlie). Mary Cate was digging the camera action. I was glad to get to meet Sarah and Eric's children after hearing so much about them during our marriage prep weekend. (: Eric and Sarah demonstrate such love and patience with their children - such an example for others. We all know having young children is chaos but the rewards are oh so sweet.