Meet the September 2012 Our Town Monthly Cover family, The Thomsens of Vinings Estates. With ALTA tennis starting today all around Atlanta, it was a great time to feature this fun tennis family on the cover.
We multi-tasked for this session. Not only did we get a great shot for the cover of a magazine, we also marked the occasion of adding a new puppy to the family. Rue, a little black mixed-breed, was adopted from a shelter just a few days before this picture was taken and is sure to be a long time family member.
Thirdly, we shot to have portraits of Grace with her new puppy and family. Grace is graduating 8th grade this year and we plan on having some great images for her 8th grade feature page in the yearbook.
Photographer’s Tip: Even if your school does not feature 8th graders like hers does, you can mark that milestone of graduating middle school with a family photo session. Think of how much he or she will change before the next time they get professionally photographed which is usually during their Senior Year of High School.
What to Wear: Grace has a wonderful unique style and she originally pulled together pieces from the new 2012 Adidas Adizero line that looked terrific. The red and black that you see in our cover was a back up. Because you always go with what looks best on Mom first, we decided that the yellow was too much and the black with a blue tennis court backdrop was the way to go. The pops of red here and there add some color and most importantly it is a more classic image that they can hang in their home and enjoy for years to come. You want to reflect your personal style in a classic way so that it stands the test of time.
At the closing table when they purchased their home in 2000 the seller leaned over and said “you don’t realize it now but the best thing about your new home is the neighborhood”. 12 years later Angie and Mark Thomsen agree that Vinings Estates, Smyrna neighborhood, has meant more to them than they could have could ever have imagined.
Raising children Grace (14) and Maxmillian (11) keeps the family constantly on the go. Participating in Smyrna Soccer, where Mark has served on the Board of Directors for 6 years, both children have developed good physical skills especially in endurance running as evidenced by Grace winning her age group at last fall’s Silver Comet Trail Half-Marathon….a path she knows well having regularly visited it since being pushed in a baby jogger by her Mom and Dad. The entire family has completed the Peachtree Road Race a combined 30 times.
Fortunately for Mark his position as a VP Business Banker with PNC Bank supporting their Cumberland/Galleria/Smyrna branches keeps him in the area most days and involved with community organizations including the Smyrna Optimist Club.
Another family passion is tennis ! Mark and Angie both captain several neighborhood teams, including Mixed and Men’s Doubles. Angie’s women’s team LOVE (Ladies Of Vinings Estates) won the ALTA City Championship last fall.
Angie is a Stay at home Mom, who likes to cook, bake, and entertain, she is Senior Sales Consultant for Thirty-One Gifts – a line of personalized tote products as a home based business. Who finds most of her time is spent driving and going to sporting events, since the entire family participates in several sports, sometimes it seems like a juggling act to get everyone where they need to be.
Both children attend Eastside Christian School and the family attends Trinity Anglican Mission church on DeFoors Hills Road in Atlanta.
Recently they acquired a black Lab/Jack Russell puppy (RUE) from Atlanta Humane Society who joins their mixed terrier (GIZMO) rescued 6 years ago.
— From Our Town Monthly | September 2012
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Lisa – you are quite the writer as well as a fabulous photographer!