Interview with a Real Pittsburgh Family

How many children are in your family?

We have one child.

Are you from Pittsburgh? 

I am from China. I came to Pittsburgh for school and met my husband here. I've lived here for 4 years now.

Write 3 adjectives that describe your family.

Our family is loving, honest, mild.

What are your family's favorite things to do in and around Pittsburgh?

Ice skating at Schenley Park.

What are your family's favorite movie(s) and/or book(s)?

We like a couple movies. One of them is The Martian.

What is/are your family's favorite food(s) or restaurant(s)?

A Michelin star Chinese restaurant named Cafe China in midtown New York.

Share a funny family memory. 

I work in New York, so Mark often travels there to visit me. On the Chinese valentine's day of 2015, Mark made a secret trip to New York. He arrived at my apartment while I was at work, had my roommate open the door for him, and waited there for me to finish work. He texted me saying that his friend Todd was going to stop by my apartment building to give me something to take back to Pittsburgh next week, so I needed to tell Todd when I'd get home. I believed that was true. I also didn't expect he'd do anything special for me on that day because it's not a valentine's day in the US. I finished work, told Todd when I'd be home,  and went home as usual, then I saw Mark walking towards me on the street with roses on his hand. What's funny was I wasn't surprised but very confused! The first question I asked him wasn't "Why are you here?", but "What's going on? Where is Todd?"

What does your family enjoy doing together? 

Mark enjoys cooking for me. I like to help him while he cooks.

Tell us a little about family vacations. Maybe the best vacation you ever had or a favorite vacation destination etc. 

We had our wedding in Dominican Republic. My family came all the way from China, then both of our families (19 people) went to DR together and had stayed there for 11 days. The wedding on the beach was beautiful and the 11 days on the beach was so relaxing.

Why did you decide to have your family portraits taken by a professional photographer? 

Claire is our first baby and this is our first family portrait session, so I wanted a professional one.

How did you decide what to wear to your portrait session? 

My husband bought the blue outfit for the baby some time ago not for this photo session. He likes this outfit so decided to have her wear it at the session. We wanted to wear something that would go well with baby's color, so we picked ours based on her outfit.

What was your favorite portrait from your family session? 

The one of daddy and daughter looking at each other (the middle portrait below).

How did you chose Laura Mares Photography? 

Laura was recommended to me by someone on a Facebook group for Mt Lebanon Moms. I checked Laura's website and loved all the pictures. The package she offers is good mix of photo numbers and price, so I chose Laura.

If any of your personal items were used during the portrait session, where were they from? Target, Pottery Barn, Etsy, etc. 

Our clothes are from J Crew.

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Laura Mares is an experienced photographer specializing in capturing timeless family keepsakes. Laura works on location and in her fully equipped home studio, located in Mt. Lebanon, eight miles south of Pittsburgh, PA. Laura’s style is creative, natural, and timeless. Would you like beautiful portraits of your newborn baby, to update your child and family portraits or to document a milestone in your life such as a wedding, graduation, birthday or reunion? If you are interested in high quality, timeless photographs, book your session today, call (412) 654-3367 or email [email protected]. To view a wide range of gorgeous portraits and to get great tips, advice and beautiful inspiration follow along on Instagram and Facebook.