Spring Siblings Session: Timing is Everything

I had the pleasure of photographing my nieces a few weeks ago while visiting my family in Central PA and these sweet girls and their mama were so ready for this photo shoot! That’s one of the many things that makes photographing little girls so much fun – they enjoy the process. Even the youngest enjoyed her time in front of the camera!

One of the challenges we faced was that their preferred location for group shots was an enclosed garden with limited access – think banker’s hours. While you can photograph portraits anytime of day outside, there really are just two ideal times of day: within an hour or two after sunrise or an hour or two before sunset. For this first set of photos, we didn’t have that option, but were blessed with overcast skies at 4 p.m.! Hallelujah!

The sun peeked out again toward the end of our time in the garden, so we ducked under this pagoda for softer light.

After sunrise or before sunset, the light is softer and lower, which is beautiful and means less unflattering squinting and shadows. AND it’s more forgiving for the photographer because while I’m shooting in manual mode, I don’t have to make as many adjustments for the light and can focus on staying with my client and capturing emotion and personality. For their individual portraits, we were able to do just that at a public location closer to sunset.

And the following morning, just after sunrise, we did another mini session with this sweetheart who just turned one!

My talented sister is a blessing to her daughters in so many ways, but one way that she completely outshines any other mom I know is the birthday parties she throws. Just look at these handmade flowers for her littlest daughter’s first birthday party! What a fun backdrop for a few portraits in their own home!