Children in Mellon Park, Pittsburgh

I photographed an adorable young family in Mellon Park, while my husband took our kids to play in the playground across the street. On our way out the door I asked the kids to grab something to wear in case we had time to snap a few photos of them. Their outfit choices reflect their personality. My son grabbed his favorite Cat and Jack jeans. My daughters grabbed a Matilda Jane dress and a rose gold toile dress. I try to have one pair of shoes that are photogenic for each of them to wear each year. Today they wore sandals, clogs and tennis shoes. We had a lot of fun and I thought I'd share some with you.

Mellon Park is becoming one of my favorite locations to have photo sessions. I love the cobblestone, gates, walls, fountain and flowers.

My children and I called out ideas for the photos. It was fun seeing them direct each other! My children gave each other clever ideas for fun poses and called out silly nonsense to get each other to laugh! 

I can't remember who's idea it was for our youngest child to do "the dab," but I think she pulled it off perfectly! (spoken like a true mother!)

This was in response to "Hey, you should curtsey like a royal princess!"

After our time on the cobblestone way, we stopped to rest and cool off at the beautiful fountain in the center of the walled garden.

When photographing bigger kids I love to offer them a stage and give them their own creative leeway. 

After I felt we nailed the photo session, my children continued to come up with more and more ideas! What a treat for a mother that's a photographer!

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 us on Instagram and Facebook.