Carter Family Fall Session | Idaho Family Photographer

He was twirling his little girl around by the hand while the boys wrestled in the grass behind them — and honestly, that pretty much sums up the Carter family's whole session. Joyful chaos, the good kind.

There are five of them: mom, dad, two boys, and one little girl, plus their black dog who popped into a few frames like he owned the place. We met up in a big golden field — dry grass, sagebrush, rabbitbrush, and those big trees going yellow-green — and the late-afternoon light just poured over everything. A metal ranch gate made the perfect backdrop for a few.

Everybody dressed the part. Dad in a black cowboy hat and red-and-white plaid with a big ornate silver buckle, mom in a rust suede maxi dress and stitched tan boots with her long blonde hair down, the boys in cream cowboy hats and dark western shirts, and the little girl in a white bow and a long flowing white skirt. They looked like they stepped right out of a western fall catalog.

My favorite parts were the in-between moments — dad carrying the littlest boy on his hip, the kids piled around mom laughing in the tall brush, mom and daughter touching foreheads, and the boys play-wrestling and giving piggyback rides when they thought no one was looking. (I was looking.) We snuck mom and dad off for a few of just the two of them, too — a slow dance in the field, a forehead kiss — and those quiet ones might be my favorites of the whole gallery.

If you're looking for an Idaho family photographer, you can see what's included and what sessions cost on my pricing page, or contact me to check availability.