Family photos are one of my favorite things to do when I am not shooting weddings. I love watching my couples go from becoming engaged to married then with little ones. Documenting these memories are really apart of the timeline that I consider when becoming a couples wedding photographer, and when my couples invite me back I become over joyed!
When choosing a location for a family session you can never go wrong at the beach! Family photos are one of my favorite things to shoot because I have a family of my own, but also it gives me a chance to capture playful imagery in other people’s families. I love photographing Amanda, Dereck and their little love Tenley. I could hardly believe that Tenley turned one! When Amanda wrote to me to schedule a session for Tenley’s 1st birthday I was in shock an entire year had gone by. It seemed like yesterday Amanda was pregnant and we had just done her maternity photos and here was this little baby girl turning into a toddler right before our eyes.

We decided to have our family session at the Poplar Beach in Half Moon Bay where Dereck grew up. It was so great to see them happy and healthy after a year of lockdown. We spent a little time catching up and I noticed how amazing the air smelled. It was that familiar salty ocean air that feels like freedom and the warm breeze was perfect for a beautiful spring family shoot! I always begin my family photos with a nice wide shot to capture the scenery. In this case the cliffs were incredible and Amanda and Dereck had fun laughing with Tenley and tossing her lightly in the air. We even got a few giggles out of her during the walking shots. She at times would look at the camera and pout her lips at me and it just melted my heart. I love capturing photos of a babies hands, feet, mouth and ears, because those are the baby parts that grow and change so quickly. Its so nice to remember how little they were and look back on those little parts and feel a sense of warmth when viewing those images.
It was such a wonderful mini session hanging with these three….I hope to watch Tenley grow and someday put together a timeline of her photos from baby to adult!