Monroeville Community Park Family Photos

Extended family photos are always such a blessing to photograph, knowing how special they will be years down the road! I had the pleasure of photographing this sweet family at the Monroeville Community Park on a beautiful day in September.

One of these families I’ve had the privilege of photographing for a few years now, dating all the way back to 2017! Click here to see one of our most recent individual family sessions together at Hartwood Acres Mansion (and click here to see a super cute Mellon Park session from 2017!)

During our time together, we managed to get a group photo with everyone together (only one head swap required, for other photographers out there who might be wondering ;) ) and we were also able to get some photos of each family and couple together, as well as some other combinations. Below is only a small sampling of what we were able to capture!

Some of my favorite photos happened during the more candid part of our session, when the kids were all running around! I’ve learned with family photos that sometimes the best images are the most candid ones, where the kids can just be themselves. ☺️

Thank you again to this family for letting me create these photos for you!

Hartwood Acres Mansion Family Photos

I had the pleasure of photographing this sweet family with their three little boys a few weeks ago! We wandered around Hartwood Acres Mansion (which is a pretty cool spot to explore as a kid!) and the favorite activity of the boys was trying to open each and every door that led into the mansion - there were a lot! (And spoiler alert - sadly, they were all locked!). It really was a joy to get to photograph this sweet family - enjoy a few of my favorite images from their session!

Summer Mellon Park Family Photos

I had the pleasure of photographing this sweet family at Mellon Park on a beautiful summer evening for a family mini session! We were able to get some great photos in our short time together, and I absolutely love the outfits they chose - colorful, coordinating, (but not too matchy-matchy) and the perfect summer palette!

If you are scheduling a senior portrait session, consider scheduling a family “mini session” to tack on some family photos before your senior goes off to college!

Brady's Run Park Extended Family Photos

I had the pleasure of working with this lovely family to get some extended family photos at Brady’s Run Park in Beaver Falls at the beginning of August! This sweet family was the largest in number I’ve ever photographed - 17 to be exact! And even though there was a major threat of rain (that only appeared as we were driving to the park!), the weather held out and we were able to get lots of different family combinations!

I can’t believe this was my first time photographing anyone at Brady’s Run Park - it is such a nice space, and worked out so well for this big group!

Below, I’m sharing a few highlights from our time together! Thank you all SO much for the honor of taking your photos! ☺️

Mellon Park Family Photos

Did you know that a mini family session can be added onto any full senior package purchase? If one member of your family is getting photo ready, it can be a great time to bring the rest of the family along for some photos of you all together! And that’s exactly what we did for this sweet family!

Family mini sessions paired with a senior session take place either at the beginning or the end of the senior session. They last 20 minutes, and in that timeframe, we get as many different combinations as we can, along with some more posed photos and some more candid photos.

If you would be interested in adding a mini family session to your senior package, you can do so while booking with me! Or, if you’ve already booked and would like to add one on, feel free to reach out and we can get it added on for you!

Summer North Park Family Photos

I had the pleasure of photographing this sweet family a few years ago when we had a surprise snow storm at the beginning of November… and this time was much different! Rather than a surprise snow storm, we had a heat wave the day of their session this time, which they muscled through so well! Thankfully, we had some beautiful sunlight and scenery to work with, which made the heat seem not so bad!

Family photo sessions with young ones are so much fun! Of course, I’m always aiming to get some photos of the kids looking at the camera, but often times, it’s important to embrace the more candid-nature of a family session with young kids to get some genuine smiles. We played Simon Says, laughed, yelled, talked about our favorite foods, animals, and colors, and hugged, and ran! And we had a great time. A huge thanks to this family for letting me photograph you all again! ❤️

Pittsburgh Extended Family Photos

This was a special extended family session, featuring both sides of Malorie & Johan's family! These extended family members have come together in support of their newest and littlest member, so it was only fitting to document this sweet season before some head out of state in the place that brought them all together in this season!

Interested in an immediate or extended family session? Feel free to click this link for more info!

Malorie & Johan, thank you so much for the honor of photographing your sweet families during this special time!

Summer Moraine State Park Family Photos

Tracie & Mark are celebrating their 10 year anniversary this year, and they wanted to do so with some updated family photos, and some updated photos of the two of them! One of their favorite places as a family of four to spend time at is Moraine State Park, so it was a no-brainer that that would be the perfect location for their photos… and it did not disappoint!

Aside from some of my usual favorite spots, I noticed some gorgeous bushes in bloom all throughout the park… and I knew we had to use them in their photos! So we parked, jumped across a ditch, and walked across the road to our first beautiful spot. Sometimes it takes a little extra work to make the magic happen, but it’s always so worth it!

From there, we drove to two other locations for photos - one spot with a small field and a wooded area, and the last spot right on the lake. While the lake location is beautiful, the light is best later in the day, when the sun isn’t shining to bright against the water. I think we hit our last spot at the perfect time, and got the most beautiful light!

As an added bonus… the kids played in the lake at the end of our session and caught a fish! (Scroll to the bottom to see the very last photo!). If you’ve ever wondered what a family session is like, I feel like that just about sums it up! Kids have limited attention spans during photos, so at some point, we have to steer into that and go for the more fun, candid, and interactive shots (you’ll see lots of fun ones in this post!). And you know what? Those ones always end up being my favorites anyways!

Congratulations on your 10 year anniversary, Tracie & Mark! Thank you so much for the honor of commemorating such a special season for you four!

McConnell's Mill Summer Family Photos

This sweet family had the most gorgeous day for their mini session at McConnell’s Mill!

We’ve known Darren & Kim for a number of years, all the way back to before they were married! We’ve run in many of the same circles and have had the pleasure of seeing them get engaged, married, and grow from a family of two to three, then from a family of three to four.

I love the colors these four chose for their photos! They opted for lighter, summer-themed tones, which popped perfectly against the sun-lit forest background. I’m so excited about how these images turned out!

Kim & Darren, thank you so much for the honor of taking these photos for you. You two (and your two boys!) are a blessing to our lives! ❤️

Interested in booking a family session for yourself? Feel free to click here to get some more info, or email me directly at: jhidingerphotography@gmail.com.

Spring Mini Sessions 2022 Recap

We had a beautiful afternoon for our back-to-back mini sessions at Moraine State Park!

It was an absolute joy to be able to photograph three beautiful families - two of whom I photographed weddings for just a few years ago! And one of whom I used to work with!

Mini sessions are a great option for families who want a few updated images as their kids grow - but they are also great for a short engagement session, a quick headshot, or even a quick extended family photo! I try to offer them a few times throughout each calendar year. I hope to offer Christmas tree farm mini sessions this fall! (Check out my last set from 2022 here!)

Interested in knowing when mini sessions events are happening? Feel free to click here to sign up for my email newsletter so you can be in the know!

And for now - enjoy a few of my favorite images from our mini session day!