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Of all the families I photograph, mine is the hardest

Posted in Big Kids, Family, PERSONAL, Portrait Sessions, Preservation ParkTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Photographing your own Family

I wish that I could say that this was a lovely, easy experience, but that would be a lie.

Last weekend, I was quite surprised when my husband suggested that we do a family photo session of our own. It seems like every year I forget to Schedule time for our photos and end up scrambling to get them done. But he is usually the last one who wants his picture talken, so I was pleasantly surprised when he reminded me. So I set off to find outfits for everyone that two tweenage girls wouldn’t whine about.

I was lucky and found things that everyone was happy with, except my husband who complained that it was still too hot for long sleeves. Oh well … you can’t please everyone.

So I was all set, and then it rained.

And rained.

And rained some more.

And finally, yesterday, the sun came out. So we all got dressed and drove out to the new park that I had never been to but wanted the check out. And as soon as we got there, my oldest started complaining that her head hurt. Because I knew that meant she’d never cooperate, we went home. Of course as soon as we got home, she felt better.

But that is how it goes. So no problem, because guess what??? There are TWO magic hours inthe day! So we got up bright and early this morning and headed out.

The bad part was that it was super wet from the dew and the kids didnt want to walk too far in it to explore the farm. And I got soaked from kneeling in it. And we got there later than I I wanted and the sun was brighter than I would have liked causing horid grass colors.

But the dew in the grass and all the spider webs were absolutely stunning. And it wasn’t hot at all. We also finished in time to go to a pancake breakfast for a friend’s gymnastics team, so score!

A Strong united pair

Posted in Big Kids, Chapmans Retreat Walking Trail, Family, Portrait SessionsTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

When Jessica contacted me about doing this family portrait session, she told me that she was going through a divorce, and wanted a way to document a new beginning for she and her daughter, Kaila.  She wanted the photos to show a strong, united pair.  

I think that documenting new beginnings is a perfect reason to schedule a portrait session.  I thought Jessica’s words in her survey to me were beautiful. 

She said ” I want to show Kaila that we are still a family even though we’re divided now and that we will be stronger and better from everything.  I want her to see how much love there is for her and how much fun we can have together.”

I love it when clients really put their thoughts and feelings in my client survey. It really helps me to have an emotional connection with them, and to understand truly what the photos mean to them. I can’t even explain why this matters.  The closest I’ve come to verbalizing why it matters to me is the quote by David Alan Harvey that says “Don’t shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like.” 

Maybe it’s all in my imagination, but I somehow think I do a better job with the photos when I feel that connection to the clients story.

I know it felt super easy to capture a strong, united pair when I was photographing Jessica and Kaila.  Photographing mothers with their babies (no matter how old!) is always one of my favorite things and I just loved watching these two interact with each other.  It’s so obvious just by the look in Jessica’s eyes that there is so, so much love for this beautiful little girl.