A whirlwind adventure to Rogish Farms

Three words to sum up this session: an absolute ADVENTURE! Every year, beautiful Rogish Farms in Chesterland, Ohio offers the opportunity for photographers to hold sessions in their field of crimson clover flowers. I was looking to host some mini sessions there, but I needed some promotional photos first. That’s where the Myers family stepped in! And strap in, it’s a bit of a wild story of how we met!

It’s spring in Northeast Ohio, so the weather is a bit… changeable. When the crimson clover field reservations dropped, I looked at the forecast and only saw TWO sunny days ahead, the rest was rain, rain, and more rain. I went ahead and reserved an hour for the following day, one of the only guaranteed sunny ones, but that meant I needed to find someone to model for me pretty quickly!

I was frantically texting folks to see if anyone was available but wasn’t having much luck – I could not let this opportunity slip by (well known secret about me – I am OBSESSED with flower fields)! I had a dentist appointment that morning and jokingly mentioned my woes to my dental hygienist (AKA my hero) and asked if she was interested. She couldn’t make it, but she was determined to help me find someone. She started asking around the whole office, and right when I returned home, I got a call from S! She and her family were available, and we quickly made arrangements to meet the next day at the flower field.

Beautiful crimson clover flower field location

I got to the field a bit early to scope things out before our session, and let me tell you … it was BREATHTAKING. The flowers were so beautiful, the perfect reddish pink. The sunlight was also filtering in through the tree line just where I needed it. It was literally the perfect location for family photos.

And bonus, when I touched the flowers, I was in AWE. They felt soooo soft, like velvet! This location was truly UNREAL.

From posed to playful and candid

Going into the session, I had been thinking and thinking about how to make it more documentary-style and candid for them (my photography style). I think that can sometimes come easier with a family when they have a baby or very young children, but it can be a bit more challenging to do organically when the activity isn’t as interactive (this was mostly looking at and experiencing the flowers since it is not a you-pick location) and their kids were a little older.

So I decided on using a mix of poses and prompts to keep things fun for them and still get those genuine smiles and candid moments.

And folks, it never fails. Those candid shots turned out to be some of the sweetest from the session! Especially the ones of C and B when I mischievously suggested that C tickle his little brother! I just loved their interactions and how well they got along!

The best pose award goes to…

I also loved some of the more posed ones we did. When we were doing individual photos of everyone, I asked B to do his favorite silly pose, and this fun one is what he chose!

It’s not one I’ve seen before, and I admire the creativity. 10 out of 10!

And a moment for the couple

And this one of mom and dad was SOOOOO sweet, I can’t even. When doing more posed family sessions, I always try to get some focused on just mom and dad – it can sometimes be rare for parents to get photos of just the two of them, so I like to take the opportunity to let their love shine!