10 things child photographer Meg Loeks loves

We like to shop around here but what we really enjoy doing is sharing our most loved items with our favorite people – YOU!

Today we have Meg Loeks, Click Pro and a brilliant child photographer, joining us to share just a few of her favorite things.

I LOVE being a boy mom. I am grossly outnumbered in my family. My house is exploding at the seams with testosterone that’s only going to get stronger over time, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’ve always had a little tomboy in me. You can find me happily catching frogs and snakes with my boys, building forts, constructing small Lego cities and rock collecting. On the flip side, my boys also love to help me cook and bake, collect flowers (especially my middle child Woodrow) and snuggle.

Sure the roughhousing can sometimes get tiresome, especially when we are cooped indoors, but the tenderness far outweighs the rowdiness.

The Sigma 85mm Art lens is my absolute favorite. Because of the longer focal length I typically only use it outside.

The 85mm is known to be a good portrait lens because of the beautiful compression and bokeh, but I love to use it for environmental portraiture and lifestyle photography.

One of the reasons I love this lens is it’s fast and sharp which of course is critical when photographing little ones. It’s also incredibly durable. I tend to not be very gentle on my gear and have managed to drop this lens multiple times on cement and leave it out in the rain all night. Still works like a charm.

I used to spend the majority of my time as a child outside. I went hiking and camping a lot with my family, and now I do the same thing with mine.

I’m most comfortable outdoors and love to venture to new places. I also find hiking to be very therapeutic, especially when I’m under stress.

In the winter my family often goes snowshoeing once a week, and in the summer we typically hike every day. Some of our favorite National Parks to explore are Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Smoky Mountain National Park Glacier National Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.

I’ve always loved to swing. When I was younger I used to spend a lot of time at my grandparents campground. They had the most amazing swing set. I used to sit in my grandmother’s lap and swing with her while she sang me the song, I love you A Bushel and a Peck.

Several years ago when we moved into our old farmhouse, the yard had the most amazing boxelder tree, perfect for a tire swing. It went up right away and we spent countless hours swinging on it. We have since moved and the tire swing moved with us. There’s something so nostalgic about a tire swing.

I’ve always been a big dog lover. Two years ago we brought home a beautiful Saint Bernard and named her Juniper (Juni). I could not imagine our family without her.

She truly is a gentle giant. She occasionally does take people out right from under their feet because she forgets how big she really is, but she always means well. Juni is protective of my boys, always comforting when one of them is crying. While she does like to dig humongous holes in our yard at times, she makes up for it in cuteness.

I’m a lover of inclement weather, especially fog. As long as it’s safe, I love to go out and shoot in it. I’m drawn to the mysteriousness of fog. It adds a unique, atmospheric element to images.

I also love to capture my children playing in the rain and snow. As a child I used to spend hours playing in the rain with my family. I make sure to protect my camera using a rain cover like this one.

While I mostly utilize natural light, it can of course be somewhat restricting. I love my Profoto A1s because I don’t have to rely on natural light to take a shot.

It’s dark by 3pm in the winter where I live. I’m able to recreate natural-looking light using my A1s after dark which I love.

When I think of flash, I often think of flat, harsh light. However with my A1s I’m able to utilize amazing attachments like the bounce card and dome diffuser to create soft, directional light that I’m drawn to. They are light and portable and the magnetic head on the flash for the attachments is genius.

My in-laws own a lakehouse in a remote area of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (where we currently live). My husband grew up here and we are fortunate that the are boys are able to enjoy this lake now with their cousins.

We have spent long summer days here soaking up the sun, jumping off the dock (it’s very shallow which is perfect for the little ones), and fishing. It really is a beautiful and magical place to raise children.

I’ve always been a Canon shooter. When the Canon 5D Mark IV was released I decided to take the plunge and purchase it, still also keeping my Canon 6D that I had been shooting for years with and couldn’t part.

The Mark IV works amazing in low light, which is one of my favorite types of light. I also love all the focal points available and it’s tack sharp. Another favorite feature is the autofocus with video. This has been huge since I have been dabbling more in film lately.

We are big boot lovers in our family and we sort of have to be given our environment.

I especially love Hunter boots and have been wearing them for a long time. Spring through fall you will find our family wearing Hunter boots almost everyday. My boys absolute love them because they are easy to get on and perfect for jumping in puddles with.

In the winter I’m often wearing Sorels and Kodiak boots to keep my feet dry and warm. All of these boots last which is the reason I stick with the brand.

Read all of Our Favorite Things series here.