Probably one of my favorite families on island. We've known these goofs since our girls were in pre-school together at the YMCA on Pearl Harbor. They haven't always gotten along, but this being their 3rd year in school together has seemed to bring them closer. Our boys are a year apart, but SO cute together. My boy adores theirs, and they are "best friends".
Many thanks to Winnie Bruce Photography for setting up this session as a part of our workshop here on Oahu.
Honestly, I was ready to give up family photography. It's hard. It's the shoot everyone wants - that perfect family picture to hang on their wall. But it's not an easy task. Kids don't listen, don't eat, don't sleep. Parents stress out, get grumpy, get frustrated at kids. That's just not the kind of session I want to photograph. It's not worth the time and effort trying to get everyone to smile at the camera at the same time while threatening through gritted teeth "smile and you'll get ice cream!"
I mean, ice cream is totally worth it. And you should definitely bribe your children with ice cream.
But it needs to be MORE than that.
The photographs you REALLY want from this session are the ones that show LOVE. They have to show who you are. To each other. Not to my camera.
That means NOT LOOKING AT THE CAMERA all the time!
Come to your session looking amazing - and then be prepared to play! Laugh! Goof off! Love on each other! Don't expect me to make your family something they aren't. You need to be true to who YOU are. And most of the time that's not sitting perfectly posed on a beach with everyone smiling at the camera. I want to make photographs of real things. Who you are. Not who you think you should be.
One more reason I was stoked that Laura's family was picked as models for our workshop. They're goofy! They show love. They play! This is the stuff of a great session! And yes - the kids were bribed with ice cream! :) They weren't perfect - no kids are.
But it was real.
So here goes another year of family photography! But approaching it from a different angle. One with less stress and expectations. But hopefully capturing what really is. LOVE.
