There are some families that you know just enjoy goofing with each other and laughing, and maybe it’s partly because I know Amy but just from their session, it was clear that these three like to laugh. When it comes to pictures, this is exactly what I want, I don’t want fake smiles, or fake personalities showing, I want to capture who the family is during this period in time. I know for a lot of folks, you want everyone to have glowing smiles and to look like you belong on the cover of a Leave it to Beaver box set, but let’s be real, life is not like a TV show, but it’s fun and full of surprises. I once had a family say, “I don’t want people to see our pictures and say, ‘Wow! They really clean up nicely.’ I want people to see our pictures and say, ‘Oh yeah, that’s totally them.'” This was a handful of years ago, prior to that I was aiming for the cheesy smiles on everyone’s faces, but since that family session, it hit me, that’s ultimately what I want to capture. Sure, I want everyone to have smiles, but ultimately I want you (the family) to look at your pictures and remember this time when your son or daughter was full of energy, a goofball, a laugher, etc. That’s real emotion, and that’s a real memory. With Amy’s family session, this is exactly what we got; real emotion. I loved it!! The older son was a goofball and the younger one was full of laughs and seriously, I loved being able to capture these personalities. I also love being able to tell a story with family pictures. As a wedding photographer, I think it’s just in my nature to do this, and there were so many pictures (a lot included in this post) that told a story from Amy giving up trying to keep the boys to her side, sitting on the rock as the two of them do their thing, to the laughter all three of them had in between poses, I love these pictures.
