A Famiy Portrait with the “G” Family

On a beautiful fall day I had the pleasure of conducting a family portrait session with a new family. Mom, Awo, shared with me that she would like to do periodic photo shoots with her kids as a way of marking the time in their childhood. A short while later, Awo and Bob introduced me to their son and daughter, Austen and Caroline, and the five us spent an afternoon together, enjoying some of the final days of the autumn season.

The family portrait session was held at their family home in Great Falls, VA, a beautiful place approximately 30 miles outside of Washington DC. After conducting a long string of sessions in my own backyard, hitting the road came as a welcomed change of pace and a wonderful family was waiting for me the moment that I arrived. Thankfully the weather was on our side and we were able to shoot in their expansive grassy yard. Many large trees lined the perimeter and provided us with shade and vibrant fall colors – the kind that make me wish for winter to delay its first frost.

With all the excitement of the end of the school week, Austen and Caroline were full of Friday-afternoon energy and focused on everything but holding a pose. At some point Awo and I made eye contact and through a little bit of mom-to-mom intuition I could pick up on her concern that they wouldn’t slow down long enough to the capture the moments she had envisioned. Which is why it was all the more satisfying to share with her all the great images I had photographed. In fact, the moment I sat down to edit our collection of images, I knew that we had stumbled upon the kind of family portraits that easily stand out in our memories. The kids were sweetly smiling, and the chemistry between mom and dad was simply palpable.

Together we designed 3 photo gallery wraps that the “G” family will prominently feature in their living room. The galleries will display individual images of both Austen and Caroline, as well as one of the whole family together. Not to mention that we also put together a beautiful photo album, because with so many great images – how could we not?

With their first family portrait shoot already hanging on the wall (I hope ;-)), the G family is gearing up for another session in the spring. With children at such young ages, taking regular family portraits is really the only way to document the rapid growth and change that takes place in early childhood. I hope to continue working with them in the future and to adding some precious images to their ever-growing collection of family photos.