Whenever I ask my husband what kind of gifts he desires for a holiday or birthday, his answer is always the same…
You know I love experiences!”
It is true that my husband enjoys experiencing memorable events. As much as he loves to experience things, I love to document them. This investment I am going to share today is one that is an experience AND a great way to capture the memory of it! 
Investing in family memories is significant to both my husband and me. We do this by getting professional family portraits taken of us.
Photography is an art. It is an art that is widely accessible to just about everyone these days. Although many people have the ability to snap photos, there is something special about a professional artist doing their thing! I love photography and I love having photos taken of our family, capturing the essence of who we are and how we interact with each other.
I desired to get family photos taken this last year, but we needed to save money in order to do it. Once we set the goal and determined who we wanted to take our family pictures we had something to look forward to.
In November, we had a date set with professional photographer Allison Harp. I took my time to search our closets and nearby department stores for our outfits. I didn’t want all of us in matching outfits, rather I wanted similar colors. I decided the guys would wear grey and the girls would wear light pink and white.
Here is a look at some of the sweet treasures captured when we got our photos taken.
One of the most intimate and comfortable shots we took were in our home on our bed! This adds so much to a family photo because the scene is so familiar to us. Keep that in mind when you are scheduling your family photos! Take some in your home!
Taking photos at home also allows for your children to feel natural in front of the camera.
Instead of stressing out about getting a perfect shot, we just had fun with it and hoped for the best! I’d say these are the best 🙂
Using this investment to also be close to my husband makes it well worth it to me. I loved being close to him and all the ways he tried to make me laugh when we took our photos. Taking a few couples photos like this adds to the value of our marriage. It also preserves a picture of our love for each other. I hope our children grow up and look at these pictures and remember the love we shared.
Getting professional photos taken are a great experience for families. You get to interact with each other and get close. It is one of my favorite times of the year. Plus in the results, you get to see the growth of your family and all the love you share. It is documented in a priceless art form.
I would recommend doing this at least once a year if you can afford it. Otherwise, at least once every other year. Make it happen! Then use the photos to decorate your house where your kids can grow up seeing them. Here is a snapshot of our collage wall we made using our new photos mixed with some passed ones.
