d family ~ family session at Watchung Reservation

When I first met these girls (at the beginning of the session), all they wanted to do was run around. To get them to take pictures with their parents, I had to first conduct some races and tell them about all the cool places we would be exploring during the session. This would work for a few poses and then we would have to do some more races. (Honestly, I am willing to bet that we all slept very well that night!) When they weren’t running, they were usually laughing uncontrollably and jumping on each other. Did I ever mention how badly I wanted a sister growing up?!

The light and “secret garden” feel of this location were really working for me. We had the place to ourselves, too, so the girls were free to race around and explore to their hearts’ content. They even found a moon rock on the path (am I crazy that I never heard of moon rocks?) and gave it to me to take home. Best tip ever!

I feel incredibly lucky that so many families put their faith in me to capture these moments. I think it can be unnerving for people, “letting someone in and showing him/her what your family is like together, trying to be natural in front of the camera. There is a vulnerability there and I do not take it lightly. I love feeling like I am a part of the family during a session and I always feel sad when I say goodbye and head home— especially if I was just chatting and playing with the kids for the past hour. This session gave me those feels. By the end, I really felt like I made such progress with the girls… and they didn’t want me to leave (even though I think they DID at the beginning of the session). All I can hope is that I get to see them and do this all over again someday!