Organizing your typical family shoot comes a whirlwind of planning for most families – getting a time & place where everyone can meet, for starters – and it is especially true for multigenerational shoots, but the resulting family shots are oh-so-worth it:

Ziem was thrilled to work with the Goldberg family on another shoot, this time with multiple generations. Despite the challenges of organizing the various family members here – with thanks to the Mullen family for moving their session to accommodate this one – the very sweet Goldbergs assembled on a perfect fall day, with the thrill of football and confetti in the air (literally!), to enjoy this excuse to spend much-needed time together.

The precious boys even remembered Ziem from their last shoot & were just as fun to work with as the last time, with the girls being at that perfect age for a family shoot – still adorable yet able to listen to our photographer-in-chief’s directions.

Ziem was honored to be part of such a special occasion. Receiving the family’s holiday card & seeing these sweet faces again was the best photographer’s reward. This family’s love for one another & appreciation of this too precious time together was all too apparent – and it shows in the photos, don’t you think?

Wow! I’m at a loss for words. Not only do I get to wake up each day chasing my dream job and doing what I love for the most incredible clients and friends – I also get repaid with the sweetest compliments.

I felt compelled to share this latest review from my awesome friend and client. Her darling little angels are no stranger to the blog; in fact, they must be the least unfamiliar to anyone who has been following my work since 2011 when I got to photograph big brother for the first time.

“We work with Ziem because the is the magic trifecta of family photographers – she puts us at ease in front of the camera, she carefully listens to what we want out of a shoot, and her eye for a good shot is second to none.

When I say “puts us at ease” in front of the camera, I mean making my husband & me, two of the least photo-inclined, publicity seeking persons ever, consider voluntarily stepping in front of a lens without the assistance of tequila. True, I’ve had the good fortune to know Ziem as a friend too, but in both her professional & personal capacity she just has a knack for making people forget the camera is there. Ok, almost forget – for my husband & I to completely forget there would need to be said tequila involved, but with Ziem’s assistance we get as close as we can while sober. My kids, less inclined to tequila *fingers crossed*, absolutely adore Ziem too, and behave in a magical way for her sans the tantrums & such they apparently reserve for my husband & me. Not only do they usually look in the same direction for her, they do it while smiling, a parenting double-double rarely seen in nature.

We also love that Ziem listens so closely to what clients want. My husband & I prefer more candid, less posed shots with a minimum of props, for example, and Ziem always delivers on that. We happen to prefer a holiday card photo with just the kids – remember what I said about our being really, really awkward on camera? – and this year Ziem exceeded our wildest hopes with some gorgeous shots of our two minis. 

One of Ziem’s special superpowers, though, is that she can adapt given each client’s tastes. Her trademarks are consistent with every shoot – excellent use of natural light & capturing the personality of her subjects, for starters – but she can shift styles and shots depending on what the clients want. It’s a flexibility I’ve not encountered before with a photographer & just goes to show how talented she is.

Finally, we love to work with Ziem because of her flawless taste level & eye for a good shot. Not only will she provide the shots we ask for, she’ll provide shots we didn’t even realize we wanted until we saw them. A number of those moments are now framed & hanging in my house – and those are the items I’ll take with me in a fire. She creates not just beautiful work but heirloom-quality works I’ll pass down one day.”

Thanks, Melissa! I couldn’t ask for a better friend, Mommy Mafia, amazing contributor, dream client, fashion advisor, and shopping enabler. xoxox

To inquire about rates and availability, please send me a note to z@ziemphotography.com or contact me directly at 850.319.4591.

*We mean “old” as in “a friend from way back“, not as in “geriatric“, though we’re all (I am) uncomfortably closer to 40 than 20 here. #bahhumbug

A family photographer couldn’t ask for a better gift than a shoot with friends and longtime photography clients the Kirsch family.

Since photographer-in-chief Ziem knows the Kirsches all too well, she wanted to capture their adventurous, laid back, fun-loving nature. True to form, the shoot kicked off with shots of mom & son, since sports-loving dad & daughter were in the car finishing off a football broadcast!

Between the Kirsches’s running, leaping, confetti tossing & rolling around in the grass, safe to say Ziem did just that.  They brought their trademark smiles & infectious energy, so of course the results were spectacular – so much so that Ziem wishes she had some of these shots of her own girls.

Ziem has been shooting the Kirsches since daughter Mackenzie celebrated her first birthday & son Teddy was a newborn and she can’t believe what beautiful children they’ve grown into – wow!

Poor mom Marta was afraid of the usual child meltdowns during the shoot, but Ziem worked her usual magic, and the Kirsch kids were just perfect. Everyone left full of smiles – surely the bag of fruit snacks offered as a good behavior bribe had nothing to do with it?

Here’s to many more years of friendship & a happy new year!

If you ask this truly Texan family, the fox says “Laugh and have too much fun!” And I would expect no less given that they were referred by this awesome Austin family with equally darling blue-eyed beauties!

At least, that seemed to be the message conveyed by Aunt Leslie, whose stellar “What Does the Fox Say?” dance moves kept the kids in stitches throughout the shoot:

This multi-generational clan arrived to their session knowing exactly the photos they wanted. In fact, they communicated so well with our Photographer-in-Chief Ziem that Ziem was able to wrap up the shoot in 30 minutes – including shots of grandparents plus their children, grandparents plus grandkids, grandkids only, couples, siblings, each child individually, and a few other combinations just to keep things lively:

Like the infamous fox – and Aunt Leslie – Ziem had too much fun on this shoot & hopes to work with this family again soon!