The grandparents booked this session, they wanted a reminder of the entire family on holiday, at the beach and having fun. Granny had plans for a group photo with wooden blocks that spelled out the family name but things did not go as planned…
To begin with, it was a crazy windy day, the family had already been down to the beach before I arrived and the kids were wound up and very excited by the time I got there.
From the very beginning of this session it was clear who the big joker of the group was and which little girl was the shyest.
The sun was setting faster than usual (at least it felt that way) and it was all slightly chaotic, children running in different directions and adults trying to gain some semblance of control. Herding cats would have been easier.
The calmest member of the group was Nate, nothing fazed him, he was a serene and steadying influence.
The girls were accessorized up the wazoo with tiaras, pink hair streaks and a change of clothing for the end of the shoot to give a different vibe. They began the session with lemon yellow frocks and hair bows and finished with white lacy summer dresses and pearl heart shaped tiaras.
If you asked me whether photographing lifestyle sessions for family groups was challenging, I’d answer with a resounding “yes!” but it’s fun too.
Take this photograph below for example, we were going for a sweet sitting shot that included the entire family but the little girl on the far right has lost her tiara and doesn’t know where to sit, the other little girl closest to her is screaming blue murder because she doesn’t want to sit on her mother’s lap and her mother is hanging on to her for dear life while falling backwards onto her husband, the teenage boy tried to sit down but lost his balance and the two men at the back are having a conversation and not even looking at the camera.
This is exactly how photo sessions go but that’s alright with me, I like to keep things real and avoid static overly posed images because time flies by so fast and
I must warn you, if you book a session with me, these are the kind of images you can expect to get.
If you asked me whether photographing lifestyle sessions for family groups was challenging, I’d definitely answer with a resounding “yes!” but it’s fun too.
The calmest member of the group was Nate, nothing fazed him, he was a serene and steadying influence.
when all is said and done, isn’t this what we want to remember, what it felt like, the messy beautiful chaos of it all?
