I’ve been honored to be part of Photo Native since its first year and this year the stars aligned for me to lead a shoot which was pure f-u-n. That’s the truest thing I can say since I’m in the same boat as every other photographer at the moment who misses shooting (anyone other than my kids) like crazy.
We had 12 photographers on the beach all trying out shooting in full sun at midday with two of the most beautiful and gracious families and there were just as many tears and wanderings as laughs and snuggles, so if you ever look at images as a mama and think, ‘family sessions with my family don’t/won’t look like that’–you just gotta know the 80/20 rule: we photographers take 80% of the pictures in 20% of the time.
Kids aren’t meant to ‘behave’ or ‘listen’ for an entire two hours.
Doesn’t happen.
It’s an exercise in patience and grace and presence for anyone to have a family photo session, I tell ya what. But to be willing to have that process on display for a gaggle of other photographers–it’s such a treat to watch, every time. I confess, partially because it gives me great pleasure to see other people’s kids being kids–going crazy, not being into it, experiencing all kinds of emotions. But the biggest treat is seeing parents handle it with grace and their own gorgeous flavor of creativity. Parenting is one of the most creative processes there is, and coupling that with making images is a wonder that won’t ever be lost on me.
A huge thank you to Photo Native for having me!
