Grant and Sandra are dear friends of mine, and I am so grateful to have lived a lot of life with them. Grant and I became friends during a difficult period of my life, and there is something that feels incredibly special about friends who walk with you through the hard seasons and stand beside you for the good ones. I witnessed these two get married, was there when their daughter was born, and am just so honored to be entrusted with capturing this time in their life.
Family photo sessions feel a lot different to me now that I am a mom. I know I’ve written about this before, but seeing how fleeting time is from the perspective of a parent changes the value of a photograph. I walk into each family session with a lot of gratitude and the realization that these images will be referenced for years to come. I also throw off all expectations, because as any parent of a child (maybe especially a toddler child) knows, anything can happen. I come with an open heart and let the families lead, choosing to step into their space instead of trying to create my own. We walk, we run, we splash in the waves…whatever feels right for your family.
Lately, Grant and Sandra’s daughter has been really into kites, so they brought a new kite to fly at the end of the session. It wasn’t really meant to be a part of the photoshoot, but of course, we had to get photos of it. I love that the last set from this session was just them playing, and I love that Grant was maybe as excited about the kite as his daughter.
Family portraits are about play. It’s a stretch of time when you all get to be together without other obligations. The clothes have already been picked out and maybe stained on the way to the shoot, and all of the anticipation can just kind of float out the window. Here we are, standing somewhere special (in this case, a beach; maybe for you it’s your kitchen or Grandpa’s backyard) together. What else matters?
Family Session at Esch Road Beach in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore