One of the Greatest Joys is Photographing Friends
I met Kristen around 4 years ago (I think?). First, we were internet friends. We'd like each other's posts, DM each other, and built a friendship there. Then we really connected because two of my brides wanted to donate their homemade arch after their wedding and asked me if I knew anyone who would want it. I reached out to Kristen and it was perfect because my brides were able to connect and give their arch to a queer-owned wedding and event planning business, Cedar & Stone Events! Since then, we've become friends IRL and have also gotten to work together on weddings and it's one of my favorite friendships! One where we can go to lunch or go on a hike and we can work together so beautifully to create a gorgeous day for our couples.
The First Time I Photographed This Family...
Kristen + Lauren signed up for one of my very first Fall Mini Session, and these were only the second set of minis I ever did! Their whole family was so much fun!! I loved how they embraced their son's goofiness and let him be who he really is, silliness and all! Their son is so photogenic and follows direction well, and when he's done, he communicates it so we respect it!
I love when parents do this because 1) when their child is ready for more photos, they'll come back and be so stoked and have so much fun with it! And 2) this gives us an opportunity to take photos of them, as a couple, and I love taking photos of parents just as a couple because it gives them a few moments together to be just them, which is easy to forget when you're busy being parents, running your own business, etc.
I'm not a parent, but a comment I often get during family sessions when I take the parents away for 5 minutes to focus on just them is always something along the lines of, "Wow, it's been so long since we just did anything with just us! You reminded us of how special our bond is during our session and we've made a point to have date nights more often and do more things for just us."
So mom and mom got some sweet time together while K played in the sand for a bit. Once he got to explore and play a little, he was so ready to jump back in for more pics and was asking if we could do all sorts of different silly thing. Absolutely love when my clients have ideas they want to try and we get to have fun with it!
Some of My Favorite Moments From This Family Session Were...
- How they chose their outfits! Very much in the same color palette but still distinct enough so they didn't blend together in a big blob of one color
- They were so very go-with-the-flow and down for whatever I suggested, whether it was playing in the sand, running in the water, nicely looking at the camera and smiling, or being silly
- Whenever K asked to see a picture after we took it and then giggled with excitement because he loved it
- We had time to do photos of just Kristen + Lauren together and K played and took a little break
- Everyone was into the more natural poses of just having fun and playing around because it was a true representation of who they are
- They weren't worried about getting their clothes dirty in the sand or splashed by the ocean because, hello, we were at the beach!
- When K really wanted me to take pictures of him "flying" and got so stoked about a very specific one and immediately turned around to his moms and asked if they could print it 🥹
Check out some sneak peeks from Kristen + Lauren's Family Session below 😍
Beachy Pacific Grove Family Session
