Family Portraits

Mr. M [with Miss B] – Toddler Pictures – Helena MT Photography

Posted by Megan Lane on May 16, 2013 in Family Portraits, Kiddo Portraits

I have been taking pictures of Mr. M ever since he was a teeny tiny baby…oh! how time does fly! And as he’s grown I’ve had the chance to take pictures of him with aunties and uncles and cousins and grandmas. Now sweet sister B has joined the big wide world (congrats congrats S Family!) and Mr. M is just days away from turning three! So it seems very fitting that we had his last Toddler Years photo session to celebrate:)

Mr. M started out a *leetle* bit unsure of the whole getting-his-pictures-taken-thing. But when you’re only three and your world has been turned topsy-turvy by a strange-fragile-crying bundle of blankets, I imagine it’s especially difficult to come to place you don’t remember and stare at a big black camera that also seems quite unfamiliar (I would be a little freaked out too Mister!). But after some yummy snacks and a little time to relax Mr. M was ready to turn on the charm!

Sitting still [while grinning handsomely] for a family photo? Truly, it doesn’t get any more charming than that.

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Eating a banana and guffawing? Utterly charming.

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Sharing his patented “OH-I’m-so-TOtally-surprised-and-shocked” face? Heart-meltingly charming:)

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See? He’s even darling & charming when slightly confused…:)

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Yes, this little man has charming down to a fine art. He also has a fabulous sense of humor. Perhaps my favorite moment of the whole shoot was when he brought over his beloved blanket and put it over MY head so I could play hide & seek. Oh Mister! Thanks for including me – I do SO love to play!

Clearly M has perfected his playing techniques with Mommy & Papa.

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Even though this was technically M’s shoot, I [of course] had to get a few pictures of the delectable Miss B as well.

Scrumptious, yes???

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And while Mr. M may still be wondering *what* in the world Mommy & Papa brought home from the hospital…but he is already the sweetest big brother.

Oh.

Ohhhh. Be still my heart.

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S Family – what an honor it has been these past three years to document all of these changes and kisses and surprised faces and sweet grins for your family. Thank you!! I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them!:)

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Be sure to connect with us on Facebook – we love new Likes:) And if you’re interested in pictures of the newest member of YOUR family feel free to Contact me anytime! You can also find more of our work and info about our pricing on the MLP Website.

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Jordan’s Wish – Make a Wish® Montana – Helena MT Photographer

Posted by Megan Lane on Jan 15, 2013 in Family Portraits, Life, Joy, Laughter

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Jordan. Jordan was a very happy little girl and was much beloved by everyone who knew her. But when Jordan was about five years old she started having episodes of illness, and as she got older the episodes got worse and worse.

Finally when Jordan was nine, her parents insisted that she be tested for pancreatitis—the doctors were skeptical, but it turned out that Jordan was indeed suffering from chronic pancreatitis. Jordan was a very very sick little girl, her illness caused her excruciating pain and it got so bad that she couldn’t even go to school. Instead, Jordan would lie on the couch and sketch and clip pictures from magazines and dream about fashion design.

Jordan also dreamed of visiting Europe, so plans began for a wonderful trip to be made to Europe with her grandparents, Caroline and Del. A Mediterranean/European cruise was booked for the spring of 2011. However, two weeks before they would have left for their trip, Jordan and her grandma both got very sick and ended up in the hospital. Jordan was having complications with her pancreatitis and Caroline was having complications with breast cancer. Their trip to Europe was never made.

Jordan finally had surgery for her pancreatitis in December of 2011. She was eleven years old. The doctors removed her pancreas, spleen, gall bladder, part of her intestine, and part of her stomach. They also transplanted islet cells into her liver (a fairly new medical procedure that will hopefully help Jordan produce some insulin even without a pancreas). Jordan will still have to be on insulin for the rest of her life, but after the surgery her health began to improve tremendously and everyone in her life rejoiced.

Unfortunately, Caroline’s prognosis was not as positive and eight months after Jordan’s surgery Jordan’s grandma passed away. It was a very hard loss for Jordan and her family.

Months earlier, Jordan’s story had been submitted to Make a Wish, and the folks at Make a Wish knew of Jordan’s love of fashion and Europe. But they had told Jordan’s family that a wish that “big” was rarely granted – it was far more likely that Jordan would get to go to LA for a fun fashion-related trip.

Now at this point you are probably wondering about all of these loose ends and random details – but for you to fully appreciate the ending to this tale I had to explain it all:)

A couple months after Caroline’s passing, it was decided by Make a Wish that Jordan was not going to receive a trip to LA. Instead, she was going to be granted a trip to Europe—the trip she had never gotten to make with her grandparents! Not only that, but her wish was going to be sponsored by Macy’s, the very place that Caroline had worked for eight years. Clearly Grandma Caroline was working her own fairy godmother magic to make sure her granddaughter got the trip they had planned to go on together. (goose bumps, yes?!)

So on the afternoon of December 14^th, twelve year-old Jordan and her family came to Macy’s to deliver a huge stack of letters to Santa (as part of a fundraiser for Make a Wish – read more about Macy’s donation for every letter to Santa here and here).

Waiting for them was a crowd of friends and family (and of course lots of Caroline’s co-workers from Macy’s) and a table full of gifts. All in celebration of this very special young woman who had overcome such obstacles in her life.

It was only then that Jordan found out that she was having a wish granted by Make a Wish and Macy’s (it had been a COMPLETE secret up until that moment!)—and that her European trip was coming true in a way she could have never imagined: she and her family will be visiting Paris this spring for the “fashion trip” of a lifetime.

And we all know that Caroline was there among us sharing in the happy tears and joyous hugs.

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I was asked by Make a Wish Montana if I would be willing to document these moments for Jordan and her family – and it was such a great honor to do so. I can’t say I was able to hold back the tears behind my camera, but I do hope I was able to do these beautiful moments justice.

I also hope this story and these images touch your heart as much as they did mine.

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Here are some of my favorite details and moments from this special afternoon….

Santa listened to the wishes of children at Macy’s as we waited for Jordan to arrive.

Part of the surprise were several items autographed by Taylor Swift, one of Jordan’s favorite artists. Jordan also received signed items from Jessica Simpson and Hope Solo, soccer player and Olympic Gold Medalist.

The fabulous Paris cake was made & donated by Dani Morris of Piece of Cake Creations.

There was an entire table filled with gifts – many donated by local Helena businesses (Leslie’s Hallmark, Ben Franklin, and employees of Helena’s Macy’s store). I thought it was really special that Jordan’s brother was also remembered with many gifts perfect for a young boy.

Jordan finally arrived – and before she found out the REAL reason she was there she helped her little brother mail a stack of letters to Santa.

Dawn (the manager at Helena’s Macy’s store and a friend of Jordan’s late grandma) is finally able to tell Jordan why she’s really at Macy’s on that Friday afternoon.

And from that moment on there weren’t many dry eyes….

Especially from Jordan’s mom & dad….

Jordan was interviewed by several TV and newspaper reporters (talk about a poised young woman!).

Jordan’s little brother just kept saying “oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my GOSH!”

Several of Jordan’s elementary teachers came to give Jordan big hugs.

But no one was more happy than Jordan’s little brother and her mom and dad.

And the love of this family for each other…well, that’s really what this is all about….

Make-A-Wish ^® Montana is a non-profit organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. The Foundation serves all 56 counties in Montana and granted its first wish in 1987. Since then, more than 350 wishes have come true with the help of more than 60 volunteers. For more information on how to refer children or to volunteer, please call Make-A-Wish at 1-877-574-9474 or visit its Web site at www.montana.wish.org.

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CJ and Pups – Dog Portraits – Helena MT Photographer

Posted by Megan Lane on Nov 18, 2012 in Family Portraits

To say that CJ is a dog person is kind of like saying that Oreos are better with milk…to quote my once upon a time middle school peers “Uh, no duh”:) CJ loooooooves her pups and they loooooooove her – and since I’m a firm believer that we should take the opportunity to document the things we love in life, when CJ asked about pictures with her dogs I thought it was an awesome idea! (and I keep saying “CJ’s dogs” but I should be more specific: Chloe the lab is CJ’s dog, and Seamus the terrier is her hubby Stephen’s dog:) I let CJ pick the spot (since I’m a cat person, yes, I freely admit that:-), I didn’t have many ideas for areas around Helena where we could let the dogs run free…). CJ is obviously familiar with lots of those kinds of spots, and she picked a walk just a few blocks from her house where she often takes the dogs (the view of the valley was amazing!).

Through our conversations I discovered that both Chloe and Seamus are also therapy dogs and they do some really incredible work around Helena. Chloe works every week with third graders at two schools in the Helena Valley as a Reading Education Assistance Dog (http://www.therapyanimals.org/R.E.A.D.html), plus she visits psychiatric patients at St Peter’s Hospital. Seamus visits residents of the Masonic Home and other assisted living and nursing homes. Both dogs are registered with Therapy Dogs Incorporated (http://www.therapydogs.com) and Montana T-Doggers Therapy Dogs (http://mttherapydogs.com/). I’ve included the links in case you are interested in learning more – or if you have a dog of your own you might be interested in getting involved in a similar outreach. Pretty awesome stuff!

Don’t you just want to give him a rub on that little furry head?

Chloe oh-so patiently waiting for her portrait to be taken – she is such a sweet, easy-going lab!

It was such a gorgeous fall afternoon to romp around in the sun!

“We love Momma!”

I looooove this image – the clouds, the edge-of-the-earth feeling, the one lone tree – *sigh of happiness* :)

Thanks for such an awesome session CJ (and pups!). The rest of your pictures will be ready soon:)

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Interested in some puppy pictures of your own? Visit our Website to learn more or Contact me today.

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Derek & Elise – 5-Year Anniversary Pictures – Helena MT Photographer

Posted by Megan Lane on Oct 12, 2012 in Engagement Pictures, Family Portraits

Sometimes the stars align and you look around thinking “wow…!” Such was the case when I met up with Elise and Derek for their photo session last week. Not only was it a gorgeous sunny day, but the fall colors could NOT have been more brilliant. I just kept thinking “Seriously?? WOW.” Add to that fact that the weather forecast had been predicting a 40 degree temperature drop & snow for the very next day (which ended up coming true) and it really was craaaaaaazy amazing timing! (especially considering the fact that this session was scheduled over three months ago!)

It was also a crazy fun session – we basically spent the entire time cracking up – about, well, pretty much everything:) Elise & Derek are celebrating their five-year anniversary this year (congrats you two!) and since they didn’t get many pictures at their wedding, they decided this was the perfect opportunity to spend some time celebrating their marriage. How cool is that?!

So we hiked around the lake, and I was dazzled by the light and the colors, and we laughed [a lot], and, well, it was just an awesome awesome session:)

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Thanks for all the laughs [and silliness:)] you guys! Happy five years together!!

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Celebrating a milestone of your own? I would love to help you celebrate! Visit our Website to learn more or Contact me today.

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Mr. M.S. – Fall Family Pictures – Helena MT Child Photographer

Posted by Megan Lane on Oct 12, 2012 in Family Portraits, Kiddo Portraits

I have had the pleasure of photographing this little man several times over the past couple of years – first for his baby pictures, then his one-year pictures, and this summer I got to photograph his extended family when his Grammy Jan was visiting, and now it was time for his 2 ½ year session. Such fun!

This was the first of our sessions though, were it was snowing on my way to our [outdoor] session…! Granted it wasn’t angry snow, just lazy flakes floating gently through the air, but if it’s cold enough to be snowing, well then, I think we can all agree that it’s preeeeeetty chilly out. But this family is not one to be deterred by a little snow! And honestly I’m so so glad – because when we arrived at the lake the sight that greeted me was breathtaking: the bright yellow leaves of the aspens reflected in the still-as-glass lake against the dark green of the pine trees—and to top it all off, those pine trees were dusted with the most perfect layer of fluffy snow. It was CRAZY beautiful! The S Family had told me several times that all they wanted for their session was fall colors…and their wish was definitely granted!

Little Man M was awesome – he stomped through the snow and cuddled with his Mommy. He peeked at me over his Mommy’s shoulder (showing off his luscious lashes – oh my!) and swung between his Mommy & Daddy as we walked around the lake. He threw rocks in the lake and chased his Daddy down the trails (complete with lots of giggles). And toward the end of the session when he started to get cold, he simply told us he was ready to go home – and so we did:) Perfect timing for the perfect fall session!

Such a happy family!