A little over a week ago I jumped on a plane and headed to Toronto to mentor two amazing up and coming photographers for Evolve Sessions. First day, I was city bound. I was working with a photographer that is doing photography for the sheer love for it (slightly jealous). Business may come down the road, but right now she is just looking to hone in on her skills and raw talent.
While I was there, I was also commissioned to photograph her entire family (6 that is…or 8 if you include grandma and grandpa that jumped in a couple of shots). We decided on a field-esque location that we had found the day before, made a quick stop at the Gap for styling a coordinating wardrobe and ventured out for some nature trails.
I will be the first to tell you that family photography takes patience. Lots of it…especially with kids 8 and under. There is nothing wrong with them…they are just kids…with their own agenda and generally that is not stopping here, stopping there, shift this way, shift that way. During a session there is a slight need of psychology to figure out what mood each child is in, and how to best tamper with it to get what you are looking for. Meanwhile we need to keep assuring the parents that everything is just fine, even though it seems like complete chaos to them. This goes for photographers kids too! I have my own three that test every ounce of patience in me when I try to get a group shot of them.
But…I always promise that things are just fine. This session is a perfect example of that. The kids were everywhere. Why wouldn’t you be? Trees, trails, snails, rocks, ducks, etc…distractions galore! We had ideas in mind…but we constantly had to teeter between their world and ours to make it work. You would never know from looking at these images that the 2 year old cried a good bit of the time because she was sick, the boys where in 2 different directions at all times and we felt like it was a hundred degrees.
It is the Calm in the Chaos. It is always there…there are always those moments in between, we just have to be patient and ready for them!
One of my favorite locations and sessions to date!











My absolute favorite family portrait to date…I need this tree back in Virginia. 