When Friends Feel Like Family: The Session That Says ‘This Season Matters’

I’ve known Paige for a long time. She’s my friend’s sister — someone I’ve known for years — and over time, I’ve gotten little glimpses of her family through different seasons. A vacation years ago. A session with her kids more recently. Just little snapshots of life as it’s unfolded.

So when she reached out about a session for Christmas card photos and some updated pictures, I said yes right away. I’ve photographed her kids before, and it’s always easy working with people you already know. As a family photographer, sessions like this always remind me that the people we do life with — not just the ones we're related to — are worth documenting too.

I knew her friends would be part of it — but once everyone arrived, it felt like something more.

It became a gathering of families who do life together — friends who feel like family. The kind of people whose kids are growing up side by side, who show up for dinners, milestones, and everyday moments… and now, for photos too.

We met on one of their friend’s beautiful properties and spent the afternoon moving through it together. Each family had their own time in front of the camera, and then we wrapped it all up with the good stuff: a big group photo, the adults together, and the kids piled in for their own round of giggles and chaos.

It was cold, as you'd expect that time of year, but the afternoon still had an ease to it.

On the drive home, I kept thinking the same thing:

What a gift.

What a gift to have people who walk through life with you — and to choose to celebrate that on purpose.
To document it.
To say, this is who we are right now… and it matters.

We don’t talk about this enough, but you’re allowed to do that. You can gather your closest friends — the ones who feel like family — and create a session that honors the community you’ve built.
Yes, you can absolutely get individual family photos.
But you can also say, these people are part of our story too.

We tend to think of group sessions as something reserved for extended or generational family.
But sometimes, the truest sense of “family” is the one you choose.

This session was a sweet reminder that those friendships — the everyday, show-up-for-each-other kind — are worth remembering, too.

If you're in Pulaski, TN or nearby and looking for a family photographer to capture the people who matter most — whether that’s relatives or lifelong friends — I’d love to help you turn those everyday connections into something lasting.

So if you’ve been thinking about gathering your people — your chosen family — for photos, I’d love to help you make it happen.
Holidays, milestones, or just because… I’m here for it.

Because your life.
Your people.
Your story.

They’re worth pressing pause for.

📸 Reach out here to start dreaming up your own friend-family session.