Merry Christmas from the Rodens | Downtown Tampa Photo Session

This crew was AWESOME – I really loved spending time with this family of six for a fun-filled, paint-splattered holiday photo session. Pastor Matt and Carrie are super chill and down to earth. Carrie and I have no problem being completely real about kids and life and how sometimes you just have to go with it. It’s always nice to connect with another mama who can be real and relate to the craziness of parenthood, and we shared tons of laughs about the wonderful chaos of it all.

Matt and Carrie have four amazing kids. They were so well behaved and truly a joy to be around. Their smiles and giggles were infectious – the shoot hardly felt like work. I really loved that they chose to end their annual family session with some fun.

Christmastime in Florida certainly doesn’t look like a winter wonderland, so we used festive red and green paint powder to bring on the Christmas cheer. And it went EVERYWHERE. No one was scared to get a little (or a lotta) messy. Clearly the kids won when it came to the paint war – Mom and Dad ended up with huge globs of paint all over their faces. They looked pretty adorable together, and it’s easy to see that after four kids, their marriage is still as fun (and romantic) as ever. The way they still look at each other with complete adoration is inspiring. I hope all couples can find a love as sweet and enduring as these two.

No matter how old your kids are, setting aside time for annual family photos is a fun tradition, and it’s a great way to document how your family grows and changes from year to year. Like the Roden’s family photos, incorporating some fun in to the session can really highlight the family dynamics and each person’s unique personality. Thanks for such a fun session, Roden Family!