Portrait of a Family-The Ensleys

Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. ~From the television show The Wonder Years

With the change of seasons comes a sense of renewal, along with a sense of remembrance. We look back on the passing days with thoughtful contemplation, and look forward with a renewed sense of promise. As part of that reflection, we've decided to take a look at some of the amazing people we've worked with over the years. Looking back, we can see how the roots of this business took hold.

Over the coming weeks, we will be profiling some of the individuals and families that have worked with Stephen. In their own words, we want you to read about how they feel about working with Stephen.

The first family is the Ensleys, Rhonda, Michael and Hunter.

Stephen started to work with Rhonda and Michael for their wedding, first for Rhonda's bridal portrait and then the wedding itself. Rhonda described that special day,

"He has an ability to make/allow his subject to be themselves and brings out their inner beauty as well as their outer beauty. During the wedding and reception, I hardly knew Stephen was there but he certainly was. In fact he was everywhere. I was surprised to see how many photos were taken on that day and of the special moments captured. He was able to do this without being obtrusive and disrupting the feel of the day. Simply – he is fabulous!"

Fast forward (as life often does) years later, their son Hunter is a part of Stephen's well known Kid's Club. Rhonda told me she knew how important it was to capture those special moments of childhood from recalling the precious memories of her own.

"When I look back through old photos of myself as a child, my heart smiles. To hear my mom tell me stories that go along with those pictures is priceless. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of professional photographs of me as a baby. I knew that one day, my son would enjoy looking back at himself through the years. This collection of images are some of my favorite. Every time I see them, it is like a walk down memory lane and even now at the age of 6, my son loves to hear about himself and the things he did back then. One thing that you should understand about how strongly I feel about Stephen and his work – the first three years of my son’s life, we lived in Upstate New York. Therefore, we made 8 special trips to NC so that my son could have his portrait sessions with Stephen."

And what is it like to work with Stephen? Rhonda puts it simply,

"In one word FUN! My family enjoys our sessions with Stephen. We are always relaxed and laughing. It is just his way! How is he working with children – Amazing! Part of my decision in selecting Stephen for our wedding was based on his portfolio of work with children. I could tell that he was great with children and I knew that I would want him capturing similar moments with my children. Stephen has an amazing ability to engage children during the session so that they are having fun, laughing and smiling. My son is excited when we go see “Mr. Stephen” and always runs up and gives him a big genuine hug."

The Ensleys are looking forward to their session with Stephen this fall, where they will continue to capture the moments of their special family with Stephen's special touch.

If you want more information on how your family can work with Stephen to make a masterpiece of your memories, contact Charlotte Image.

Thanks so much to the Ensley family for taking the time to tell us about their experience.