Living on Long Island you are never far from the water, and I absolutely love being able to shoot at the beach. This family is one of my favorite client families. I have been shooting for them since their little boy was born and I hope to continue to be able to watch them grow. This day was super windy and gray and at first I was disappointed that we would not be able to get any sunset pictures, but then I saw how amazing the clouds were and how great they would look in black and white with the contrast.
Family Photography Session Hans Family
One of my favorite things about my job is watching my client’s family’s grow! I have been photographing this family for three years now and they just keep getting cuter!
The Patten Family
A year ago we first met the Pattens. They had just moved into town and were looking to introduce their son to other kids who would also be in first grade. Our boys were in the same class and became the best of friends, and our little girls bonded over their love of Elsa. This family has become like a lifeline for me and my family, we are beyond lucky they moved into our neighborhood!
The "O" Family
Last year when my son started kindergarten I met so many wonderful families, including the "O" family. It is so nice to finally have so many friends in town. We had the perfect weather for this session at the beach. And doesn't their little girl have the BEST hair?! I have always wanted curly hair just like this, of course the grass is always greener because she already wants to have her hair straightened.
What to Wear- Part II
I decided to follow up my original post of "what to wear" with a second post. I had my own family session last year, and as I planned out what we were going to wear I realized that I started with one family member's outfit and planned the rest around that one outfit. This was a great way to start, at least it was for me. At first, our session was to be during Labor Day Weekend at the beach, I knew right away that I wanted to wear my blue maxi dress and coral necklace. From there I picked out a dress for my daughter that was white with blue and orange flowers on it. For my son I chose a light blue polo shirt with navy shorts and for husband a coral polo shirt with navy shorts. Unfortunately, our session had to be postponed (which is why I don't have a photo of these outfits to share) and we ended up rescheduling for the last weekend in September. It was a lot colder and I knew our original outfits would just not work.
Back to the drawing board it was for me. At this point I really didn't have any clue what we would wear but I knew I had time to think about it. A few days later I was shopping in Target when I saw THE CUTEST dress for my daughter that I just had to buy. I decided that this would be the central outfit that I would plan the rest of the session around. Because her dress was denim and creams, I decided to stick to the colors of blue and cream and add in some gray. I didn't want to have to buy all new outfits for the family so I headed into our closets and found all our pieces, which I was very happy with! I chose the rolled up jeans, navy tank and gray sweater for me, a rolled up button down with navy pants for my son, and a gray polo with jeans for my husband. And because this session was still going to take place at the beach I knew our outfits would go well in the environment and I didn't need shoes for us either, which was a bonus.
So my advice is to pick an outfit for one person, could be you, your spouse, your child, whoever, and from there dress the rest of the family around that outfit. Remember you don't have to stick to just two colors, if your daughter starts out with a blue and yellow dress, don't be afraid to add in other neutrals, such as gray, khaki or white, but you can also add in teal, red, pink, etc.
Picture courtesy of Stacey Broggy at Mom2boyz Photography