Seven by the Seashore

Before working with the wonderful family you see below, I probably would have thought shooting a portrait session for a family of seven would be daunting, tiring- stressful, to say the least.  But shortly into our shoot that very chilly day in February, I realized that my assumption had been quite wrong.  And, boy, was I glad! 

Dave and Kris and their five beautiful children were a delight to photograph, and we had as much fun as the photos make it look like we did- and perhaps more!  In fact, the only downside to the session was the temperature; by the time I climbed into my car to drive home, my thermometer read a chilly 39 degrees (and that was not including wind chill).  Thankfully, they were bundled up and full of energy, which warmed everything up just enough.  ;)

Our shoot began in downtown Steilacoom, where we found an open greenspace and a giant wooden swing, which made for a useful prop.  

This one (below) might just be one of my favorite shots- ever.  If there was one thing I walked away from this shoot with (besides a memory card full of photos I was really jazzed about) it was an encouraged heart.  I was so impressed by the love every member of this family had for all the others; it showed through in every shot, and by the end of the session, I was ready to go home and tell Daniel I wanted four more kids!  (Okay, maybe not actually, but almost!)

One thing we were intent on was getting photos of both the boys and the girls with just their Daddy.  I love the beaming smiles on the boys' faces here- you can tell they are so proud to be sitting there with him!  And the girls' shots... oh, these were adorable and sweet and hilarious all put together!  There was such a tenderness between the four of them as we were shooting, and I was delighted to see it come through the lens.

This one just cracks me up.  The little guy was so cold he had to hide in his mommy's coat between shots!

All I can say is, I want to be this visibly in love with my husband when we have a houseful of children.  I was blessed just to be taking the pictures.  :)

What you see here was divine providence.  As we walked down the water's edge at Solo Point, one of the kids spotted an old wooden bedpost floating in the tide.  It was soon fished out and recruited as our signature prop.  It remains my all-time favorite prop from a shoot.  Knowing what a gem it was, I will need to keep my eye out for antique furniture to use in future sessions!

And there you have it, folks!  As I hope you can tell from the photos, this portrait session was an absolute joy!  I owe many thanks to Dave and Kris and their patient and enthusiastic children for their warmth, flexibility, and willingness to try all kinds of shots all over Steilacoom and the surrounding landscape!  I only hope these  photos will be a blessing to their family for years to come.

~ Kathryn