Adele, Clara & the Traveling Dress

What’s better than having a princess dress for a photography session? TWO princess dresses! That was the case when I got to photograph this adorable family at the Indy Family Photo Studio. I’ve been lucky enough to participate in this year’s Little Dreamers Tutus Traveling Dress series. For this family photo session, we had two amazing gowns for Adele and Clara to wear. Little Edwin, the youngest at just three years old, looked adorable in his button-down and bow tie.

Adventures at the Indy Family Photo Studio

Adele, the oldest child at eight years old, is a sweet, sensitive, deep thinker. Clara is a fun, energetic five-year-old who loves dancing, and is your typical girly girl. Edwin is a classic little boy. He is full of energy and tends to get smothered with love by his older two sisters.

Upon getting into her gown, Adele proclaimed that she was the most beautiful one in the room. Adele’s gown was the Alyssa gown, like the gown from MJ’s Traveling Dress Session. Clara promptly let me know she wasn't going to participate. It was hilarious! Of course, once she saw her beautiful gown, she changed her mind. Not to be outdone by the two older sisters, Edwin kept trying to steal the show. He had the most expressive face! And really, is there anything cuter than tiny toddler feet?

I loved how these pictures truly captured each child’s personality. There’s fun energy from Clara, a thoughtful, dreamy look from Adele and tons of mischief from Edwin! My goal as a child and family photographer is to capture real smiles, real joy and real fun. Adventure sessions like this one allow me to build unique and fun adventures based on the things that make kiddos unique. I had so much fun pulling together this adventure for these three amazing little ones.

Little Dreamers Traveling Dress

I’ve very much enjoyed being a part of the Little Dreamers Tutus Traveling Dress program. Each dress has been unique, well-made, and filled with inspiration. These dresses add some fun and sparkle to our adventure photo sessions. Here are a few of the other Traveling Dress photo sessions.

• Claire & The Traveling Dress

• Miriam & The Traveling Dress

• Abby & The Traveling Dress

Abby & The Traveling Dress

If there’s one thing that makes my job as a family photographer even more rewarding than it already is, it’s how I have a chance to see a family again and again. That’s the case with the Lund family. I have loved being able to photograph them through the years as their three amazing kiddos grow. I photographed an in-home family lifestyle photography shoot for them earlier this year, but when I met up with them for family portraits at the Indianapolis Central Public Library, it was for another fun occasion: A Little Dreamers Tutus Traveling Dress Photoshoot!

Abby and the Traveling Dress

I’ve photographed a few of the Little Dreamers Tutus Traveling Dresses, and every dress has been something that little girls dream of wearing. There’s something so magical about putting on a beautiful gown like something out of a fairytale. Something about dressing up like a fairytale princess makes a little girl’s heart sing. Abby was no exception. She was in LOVE with the dress. With her long, long hair, she looked like the princess of the library.

While the photoshoot was mostly focused on the traveling dress, we took portraits of the whole family. Everyone dressed up for the occasion! Sam, the oldest, is super sweet. He showed off his flossing skills, as well as his missing teeth! He’s growing up SO fast. Little Matthew was not in love with the camera, but we still managed to squeeze out some smiles. Amanda (Mom) looked absolutely stunning in her gown, by Chiara Boni La Petite Robe, from Rent the Runway, and her purple hair lowlights were so pretty next to Abby's dress. Abby's hair bow matched the bow ties of the boys (although Matthew didn't want to wear his!).

Indianapolis Central Public Library Photography

The Central Library is a gorgeous location, a great option for taking family portraits during the cold months so you can stay warm. A permit is required, but that can be easily arranged between our staff and the library staff. There are a LOT of gorgeous nooks and crannies here, and a wide variety of architectural styles between the old, original building and the new, modern addition. I loved how the style of the photographs changed as we moved from area to area and I am so pleased at what a great backdrop it was for this family photo session.

Amanda and Stephen, thank you for continuing to trust me to photograph your family. I am so happy that I can document these moments and memories for you.

Enjoy these other Little Dreamers Tutus Traveling Dress Photo Sessions

Here are the other Traveling Dress Photo Sessions that I’ve enjoyed photographing! Each dress and each little girl truly have a style all their own.

• MJ’s Magical Woodland Photo Shoot

• Miriam’s Dreamy Library Photo Session

• Claire’s Sparkling Studio Session

Vendors for this Photo Session

Amanda's dress: by Chiara Boni La Petite Robe, from Rent the Runway

Abby & Amanda's hair: styled at The Dry Bar

Abby's dress: The Traveling Dress project from Little Dreamers Tutus

Claire & The Traveling Dress

As a child photographer, my first and most important goal in my photography is to capture the magic and joy in childhood. My job is to photograph the joy, the wonder, the giggles, and the wildness. That’s why I have loved being a part of the Little Dreamers Tutus Traveling Dress Project. With every dress comes a new adventure, a new dream, and new smiles. The first traveling dress project photo session was MJ’s princess session with the Alyssa dress.

When it came time for Claire’s traveling dress photo session at the Indy Family Photo historic studio, I was so excited to see her reaction to the beautiful gown. It was so much fun to document Claire’s joy during her studio photography session.

The Traveling Dress Project: A Sparkling Studio Session

Claire is a four-year-old with a wild, vivid imagination. For her Traveling Dress, we had the Hadley Dress in rust. I had a chance to photograph the Hadley Dress in purple for Miriam’s dreamy library photo session, so it was such fun to see it in another color!

Claire LOVED this dress and she floofed and flounced her way around the studio. In fact, she had trouble holding still at all because she was just SO excited. Really, though, I couldn’t blame her! Claire loved the sparkles, the stars, and the gold confetti. She would throw her head back after tossing up the confetti and she nearly swallowed some of it! Claire thought it was hilarious. When I brought out the princess crown, she was a little unsure, but those facial expressions she made while she was wearing it were priceless! The sparkling star confetti and the princess crown were both Amazon finds.

Photography is all about telling a story without using words. I am so happy to be able to share the joy and the happiness that Claire had when she got to be a princess with me in the Indy Family Photo Studio. I love my clients and sharing their stories. If you would like me to capture the story of your kiddo, please reach out! I would love to hear from you.

Miriam & The Traveling Dress

When I heard about Little Dreamers Tutus’ Traveling Dress Project, I was both excited and inspired. These exquisite, couture gowns are the dresses of little girls’ dreams. Earlier this year, my first Traveling Dress photo session with MJ was an amazing experience, so I was so excited to meet up with Miriam when another traveling dress arrived!

The Traveling Dress Project: A Dreamy Library Photo Session

Seven-year-old Miriam is an avid reader. She reads three to four hours a day! So, the library was the perfect location for her fun photo session with a traveling dress! We met up at the Central Public Library in Indianapolis to capture this dreamy photo session!

Miriam is also a ballerina. She moved around the library with such elegance and grace that other visitors stopped to watch us. The traveling dress for this session was the Hadley gown. The gown was made from a rich taffeta with a beautiful sheen making the purple color softly shimmer in the light. The dress was simple and elegant, with a full skirt with a fluffy tulle skirt sewn in underneath. It made swishing up and down the rows of bookcases so fun for Miriam! The dress had a wonderful structure and texture, making it so easy to photograph! I paired the gown with the “Illuminate Cape” from Tutu du Monde and a sparkling headband by Sienna Likes to Party. Both of these fun accessories were rented from Rainey’s Closet for a head to toe princess look!

The Central Public Library provided so many great photography opportunities with the wide staircase and the rows and rows of books. At one point, we wandered down one aisle and I asked her to grab a book and pretend to read. Pretend?? A booklover like Miriam wasn’t about to PRETEND to read! Instead, she grabbed a book and actually read it to me. It was some of Walt Whitman's work. I was so impressed with how at home Miriam was in the library.

Childhood should be a time filled with magic, dreams, and adventures. I was so happy to photograph this dreamy library photo session with this gorgeous traveling dress from Little Dreamers Tutus. Capturing precious moments like these is one of the best parts about my job as a child photographer! If you are interested in your own dreamy photo session, make sure to contact me at the Indy Family Photo Studio!

MJ & The Traveling Dress Project

Little Dreamers Tutus is a couture dress designer who has put together a number of dresses for The Traveling Dress Project. I was really excited to see this and jumped on signing up for as many gowns as possible! The model for the first dress is seven-year-old MJ, who is a total dreamer with the most amazing imagination. I loved photographing her around the Fort Ben area!

Princess Dress Photography: A Little Girl’s Dream

The first dress that we were able to work with was the Alyssa gown in dark olive swiss dot. This dress was super gorgeous, with an extremely full skirt and generous ruffle. The way the dress is laced means that it works for several sizes in either direction (for reference, this is a size 8). MJ LOVED twirling, holding it up to walk, and imagining what life would be like if she were a princess. We talked about who her friends would be, how she would spend her days, what clothes she would wear, and how she would help fix up her country.

For this Traveling Dress photography session, we took pictures at the Indy Family Photo Studio and the areas right around it. Since we are located by Fort Ben, there are LOTS of beautiful areas to work with. I took advantage of some of the different backdrops in the area so we could have some creative shots. MJ spun around in the trees and she looked like she had stepped from the pages of a fairy tale. We used a crown from our dress-up trunk, and MJ swished her way down a stone walkway. Even though our portraits weren’t actually taken on the steps of her palace, they looked like they could have been! As it turns out, there is a lack of castles in Indianapolis… Everyone driving by slowed down to catch a glimpse of our little princess. It was an AMAZING experience for all of us (MJ, her mom, and me) to enjoy and play.

Childhood should be filled with magical moments. I am so happy that I was able to be part of The Traveling Dress Project to capture these images for Princess MJ! The joy and happiness she had in wearing this dress and taking these photos is something I am so glad I was able to photograph. That’s the best part of being a child photographer: celebrating the lives of these precious kiddos and helping them hold onto the magic in every day.