Tag: portraits

Family Portrait Season

The family portrait season is upon us. Funny how the end of the year signals the time to tie up loose ends, accomplish the goals that were set at the beginning of the year, etc. This includes recording the growth of the kids, including new family members and perhaps visiting grandparents, etc. I have enjoyed photographing this family for years, and yes there was a new little one, and the others have grown and changed. The commitment to document the family progress over the years is a worthy one. As a grandparent who photographed her kids often as they grew, I now watch my grandkids going through old albums of their parents at their age, asking all kinds of questions and hugely enjoying the experience. Here are a couple of my favorites from last weekend’s session.

Family Portrait Photography

This is probably my favorite genre of photography. Most of the time, I don’t know the personalities of the families that I shoot, since I have only just met them. I still try and highlight obvious traits, like the mischief in a child, or the tenderness of a mother, but this shoot was different, because I was photographing my own six grandkids, all of whom I know very well. They range in ages from one to twelve, and here are my favorites of each of them.

Summer Family Portraits

Summer is not the ideal time for taking family portraits, but sometimes you just have to fit it into the schedule, and this is the only time that works. Even at 7pm, the sun is still high in the sky and the temperatures are close to 90 degrees in Charleston, never mind the humidity. All of that said, this family did great. The kids were engaged and cooperative, and Mom and Dad never lost their sense of humor.

Mother and Daughter Shoot

I photographed Sarah when she was pregnant with Jenna about 10 years ago. This lovely young lady is now nine years old. One of the things I most enjoy about portrait photography is the challenge of communicating personality and emotion. These images show so clearly the affection between these two. Thanks Sarah for choosing me through the years to document this journey.

Time for Fall Family Portraits

It’s that time again. Halloween decorations are everywhere, thoughts are turning to Thanksgiving plans, and then before you know it, Christmas will be here. Some are getting organized ahead of the curve and getting their Christmas card photos done and dusted. Charleston has so many picturesque backdrops that’s it’s hard to choose a theme. This family chose historic downtown for personal and aesthetic reasons. It’s always amusing because everyone wants to have these memories later, but they don’t much enjoy having to endure their time in front of the camera. Kudos to these guys, especially the kids. They did great. If this is something you’ve been meaning to schedule, please contact me. It really is a relatively painless process and kids grow up fast 🙂

Summertime Family Portraits

As we know, Charleston summers are HOT! Not the most ideal season for outdoor portrait sessions. Make-up literally melts off the ladies’ faces and people (and kids) can get cranky sooner rather than later. However, it is also a time when families are reuniting for summer vacations and wanting to capture memories of time spent together. This was the case when this family gathered in Charleston from scattered locations for a week of catching up. They were not cranky and I think they will treasure the memories for a long time.

New Challenge for a New Year

Every so often I find I need to switch gears and focus on a new thing in order to keep growing and keep learning. I have decided to spend my “growing” energies in the pet portraiture genre. I do love animals, and so I will work on applying my “people portrait” expertise to producing portraits of pets. These are some that I have done in the past, but I also have ideas for different styles; quirkier, different, amusing. Stay tuned.

Just love Family Portraits!

Studio portraits are great because you can exercise so much more control over the environment, lighting, background, etc. Conversely, outdoor portraits are fun because there is an embedded potential for unpredictability, especially when smaller kids are involved! The weather was kinda blah, and the wind was howling, which made for some interesting hair effects. Some images had to be trashed because of Marilyn Monroe type flying hems, but overall I think we captured the essence of family, which after all is the point of the shoot.