If you've ever tried capturing 5 people, including 3 toddlers, in a photograph for your holiday cards, you will feel my pain. Especially if you have a crappy point and shoot digital camera with a 4 second delay. So, this year, we decided to hire a professional family photographer. We found someone who lives nearby, has kids of her own, has a natural/organic style to her photos, and is pretty inexpensive to come to our home and take some pictures in our natural setting. No dragging kids to the mall and praying they don't melt down! She was fine with clothing and setting changes if desired, and provided 2 hours of unobtrusive, interactive photography. We were hoping that Nicole would get at least one decent photo of us all with our eyes open -- that was all. Well, she got more beautiful shots than we could afford to purchase! She was super sweet and great with the kids. It went as smoothly as it possibly could have, given our configuration of personalities. I'd highly recommend her for photos of families and/or kids! read more