Hey Friends.  We did it.  We made it to the end of the never-ending year!

Despite the shutdowns, pandemics, toilet paper crisis and the fact that I STILL can’t find Clorox wipes……it turned out to be a pretty good year for LiLo Photography and I am thankful beyond words!  This blog is always my favorite to write but least favorite to prepare for.  It takes me hours and hours to pour over all of my images from the year and pick favorites.  It is like trying to pick your favorite child….impossible.  So I have done my best to narrow it down a bit.

I hope that you enjoy this….and I hope that you see someone that you know and love in these pictures!

Babies

You guys know that babies are my favorite.  Sadly this year I didn’t get to see many babies and the ones that I did see….I didn’t really get to snuggle.  The struggle was real.  However, I still got to see these cute babies and please 2021…..send me all the babies!!!

 

These babies are a bit bigger and I even got to hold one or two of them.  I will call that a win.  Aren’t they just the cutest??

Kids

Let’s move on to some really adorable kids.  This year I got to see quite a few kids….and somehow they are all remarkable adorable!

Tweens/Teens

As long as we are going in order, let’s show off the tweens/teens.  I know a lot of people cringe when they think of teenagers, but I LOVE them.  I used to be a middle school teacher so tweens have a special place in my heart.  Most people call me crazy, but I can’t help but love them in all of their awkward glory.  And parenting tweens and tweens has turned out to be fun too!!!  So don’t worry parents of littles.  It isn’t nearly as bad as you think it is going to be.  Also, can we just say that I did NOT look like this in my tweens.  Think short permed hair and blue eye shadow.  Thank you early 90’s.  These kids are so grownup and polished.  It really isn’t fair.

Seniors

I was SO incredibly lucky this year when it came to senior pictures.  The pandemic pushed the senior picture season into the fall and I was SO happy about it.  I got such great variety in my senior pictures this year and it gave me inspiration.  Plus, I got to photograph some really amazing young men and women.  Stay tuned for something new and exciting that I am going to be doing with my 2022 seniors.  If you aren’t following me on Instagram @lilo_photography then you need to be!!  It is going to be epic!

Cap and Gown Photos

The pandemic forced me to be creative this year and the response was overwhelming.  I made over 600 yard signs for the 2020 seniors this year.  Once things opened back up again in May, I did some cap and gown mini sessions in my garage.  Can you believe that I took all of these in my garage?  We were very careful and socially distant and I am so thankful I was able to capture these images.  Some of these kids were unable to attend their own graduation due to leaving for college or military service and most of their families didn’t get to attend in person (only the parents) which made these pictures even more important.  Don’t they all look so dapper in their cap and gowns (graciously provided by Jostens- as many of the kids didn’t even have their cap and gowns yet).  This indeed has been a crazy, mixed up year!

Masks

Never in a million years would I have thought that I would be photographing people with masks on, or wearing one while I am taking photos.  It presented a big challenge for me as I had no idea how much I rely on my facial expressions while taking photos (especially photos of kids).  The mask also fogged up my viewing screen on my camera which was also tricky when trying to take pictures.  However, I am incredibly grateful that I got to take any pictures, so I will take the masks!  Most sessions wanted a picture of them wearing a mask so they could preserve this crazy time in history and I totally agree.  It will be a fun reminder to future generations of what we went through in 2020.

Families

Families are my jam and are what I spend most of my time photographing, especially in the fall.  There are so many families that have been faithfully coming to me for YEARS and it makes me all misty-eyed to think of them and their faithfulness, love and dedication.  So thank you from the bottom of my heart LiLo families.  I truly would not be where I am today without you.

Siblings

My sister is my best friend.  She gets me like no one else.  When we were growing up we didn’t always get along but as soon as she went to college, we became best friends.  Some of these siblings didn’t want to take a photo together (they are in the annoyed-with-each-other phase) but their parents love them…and they will too in a few years.

Connection

One of my biggest goals when taking photos is to capture connection and relationship.  This rings especially true for parents.  These are my favorite parent pictures.  They make my heart sing.

The Year of the Dog

It is true.  This year was the year of the dog.  I think I took more pictures of people with their dogs this year than all of the other 9 years I have been in business COMBINED!  People were home more in 2020 and therefore there was a record number of puppies adopted this year.  Why not if you are at home all of the time, right?!  I was never really much of a dog person (I am allergic to most dogs) until we got a Yorkiepoo 3 years ago.  Now I am all about the dogs!  They always make sessions a little more stressful and challenging, but as you can see in these pictures it is TOTALLY worth it.  I swear in some of these photos the dogs are ACTUALLY smiling.

Food

Sometimes it is nice to get out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself to something new.  This year I wanted to do more food photography.  It is fascinating and SO different from anything else that I do.  I didn’t do it as much as I wanted to, but still….I had some fun with these.

Headshots

I love helping people update their headshots and show off their true personality for their work/business.  Next year I am going to be doing more business coaching and branding sessions and I can’t wait to delve more into the world of helping other small business owners grow their businesses.

To Make You Laugh

These are the images that made me laugh and smile.  I often catch funny expressions or crazy things that happen during a session.  I almost always include them in the gallery and it makes people laugh and is often one of the favorite photos from the session.  Here are my favorite funny images of 2020.

My Family

This year has been tricky in so many ways.  However, one thing I have cherished to my core is the extra time I have spent with my family.  Especially as I have teens that are getting close to flying the nest….this year with them has been precious.  We have had more family time and were even able to take our first family vacation together as just the five of us.  I have seen and spent time with my nieces and nephews more this year and I have taken more photos of my family and extended family this year than any other year.  I am unbelievably grateful.  Here are my people.

More Favorites

Here are more pictures that are my favorite.  Like I said….it is hard to narrow it down to just a few photos.  So feast your eyes on these random photos.

Favorite

Many times I get asked what is my favorite photo of the year.  That is REALLY hard to narrow down.  So I looked to all of you for help.  This was my number one “liked” image of 2020 on Instagram.  You have spoken and this was YOUR favorite photo of 2020.  I took this photo of a Bison inside Yellowstone National Park from the CAR….while we were going 30 MPH.  I saw the bison sitting out there by itself near the water with the reflection and knew I had to capture it.  This picture also represents a beautiful time for our family.  If you missed that blog, you can see all about our Wyoming and Yellowstone vacation.  It will forever be one of my favorite memories of 2020 so it is the perfect picture to represent my favorite image of 2020.  It looks a little blurry here….thanks to my blog settings and the fact that I was moving while taking this photo.

So there you have it.  My top images of 2020.  Thank you all for your faithful readership and support of my little business.  2020 was a great year and I am so grateful!  If you are interested here is my 2019 recap and my 2017 recap.  I am confident that 2021 is going to be another great year for LiLo.