Rain on your wedding day is a bummer, but the bride and groom from this recent wedding didn’t let it ruin their day. In fact, I’d say, they overcame it and enjoyed their day anyway. From the ceremony through the creative portraits, we all carried on in the rain and I really think it highlighted the importance of their day.
Family portraits can be tricky especially when multiple families are involved, but this family made it easy and I got to photograph them in their beautiful wooded backyard again so this session was a walk in the park, or more literally, the woods. Ha!
We started with the largest group so I could make sure we achieved their main goal, which was the whole family in one portrait, as part of the family lives overseas so that doesn’t happen very often.
Then we did smaller groupings of the individual families.
With all of the foliage, I brought along some lighting gear, especially to accommodate the extra depth of focus needed for larger groups in low-light. And I love how the light blends with the natural light of the sun, bringing some dimension to the trees in the background and highlighting them from behind.
Here’s a shot with all of the grandchildren.
And this brother and sister were really having fun while their grandma was making them laugh from behind my camera.
I’m a sister, and my close cousins are both sisters, so sisters portraits are so sweet to me. We have lots of portraits like this one throughout our family.
And while we were at it, we couldn’t leave out the couples. It’s always nice to remember who we were before becoming parents and take a little stroll down memory lane.
With a little time left in our session after crossing off all of the groupings they wanted for their portraits, we headed down the path to this beautiful lake. It’s so vivid with the setting sun, that I feel like I have to note that it’s not a backdrop or manipulated in Photoshop. This is the real deal, and it is gorgeous!
This summer, I’ve had the pleasure of photographing several families in their backyards and it’s been so much fun to capture the sweetness in a space that is special to the family. It leaves me with two thoughts: I hope more families will opt to be photographed in their backyards. And it makes me want to work on my own backyard so that my family can do the same! With beautiful morning light and an adorable family, this latest session was a real treat!
I should mention that these cutie pies are smiling in unison at their grandma and grandpa who were ever so helpful at coaxing some smiles.
And while I say that this session inspired me to want to work on my own backyard, I should also point out that you don’t have to have a perfectly manicured lawn or landscaping for a great space for portraits. Although, this yard had some spectacular spots for photos!
These two in this treehouse. Goodness!
And this little guy’s mama knew that he’d need a blanket for photos on the grass because he was ready to eat it the moment they laid him down. I’m not sure if he was excited about the grass or all of the hullabaloo behind the camera! Just kidding, it was his family, of course!
Here’s a fun backyard session from a few weeks back. And by backyard, what I should really say is gorgeous nature walk through the woods. And it actually is the backyard of this awesome nature-loving family!
But let me start with the kids, they are real charmers, even asking if I wanted to be in one of the photos. How sweet!?!
And here’s the whole family. Doesn’t it look like they were having fun? We kept the shoot light and low on the fuss factor. And for families with younger children, I think that’s really important. As soon as an adult on the shoot (photographer included) gets fussy and frets about stray hairs or posing, the kids disconnect and it becomes challenging for everyone. With that being said, props to this mom who had everyone ready to go, so the moments leading up to the shoot were low-stress and the kids were in a great mood.
They spend a lot of time down by the creek and we shifted into more of a lifestyle photography approach.
I really love lifestyle photography because it combines portraiture with everyday life – carefully planned to highlight our memories in the best possible light. As a photographer and a mom, that’s what I feel will be most precious to my family in years to come.
Captivating Imagery