I met Abi & Greg and their adorable children (Leo & Lyra) last Spring when I photographed Leo for some modeling headshots for his agency, 3 Model Management in Berkeley. We had such a fun time wandering around beautiful gardens in Palo Alto. They had warned me that he doesn’t like having his picture taken, but I was able to get some fantastic giggles and smiles out of him during our time together. He was a joy to work with.
Fast forward to the end of Summer. They contacted me and wanted to take family photos in the Fall which I was thrilled about. Since they live in San Francisco, and I’m located in San Jose we picked a point to meet in the middle. We knew that we wanted open space for the children to be able to roam freely and not get distracted. We talked about some locations and finally found one that worked perfectly for what we needed.
Included in all of my family session packages is the ability to access an online styling guide to help plan outfits for your family photos. I will also help plan and offer solutions if clients are stuck between deciding outfits. With it being toward the end of the year, we knew cooler temperatures were a possibility. We talked about colors, and textures and layers in order to make everyone comfortable and stylish at the same time. I always tell moms that we need to find their outfit first and then we will plan everyone else around them. Abi did an amazing job pulling everyone’s outfits together.
As the session began, Lyra wasn’t feeling like her usual perky self, so we had lots of snuggles and some fun throwing her up in the air to boost her mood. This session was a classic case of the clients just being themselves and me documenting the fun (and silliness) that ensues from having two young kids. We turned the kids upside down, we had them run under a blanket, pick flowers, put them up on shoulders, all in all, just have fun. That’s what these sessions are about. No one wants to hold still look at the camera and smile, especially not toddlers.
I had so much fun with this family and know that these images are printed and hung in their home where they can walk by them everyday and smile remembering the fun they had that day.
Find out more about Alison Donahue Photography here.
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