Family Session at Golden Gardens Park

Every family has their share of formal pictures taken in a studio setting - our included. But how many have had the fun of going out to a park, a favorite place (or even staying at home) where real life happens to get images taken that capture the fun, the messiness, the laughter and the personality that sums up your family? After experiencing a session like that ourselves this past summer, I was very excited to begin these "lifestyle" sessions for other families.

So Sunday morning we hooked up with our very good friends, Joshua and Sheri, and their four beautiful girls to have some fun in the sand at Golden Gardens Park. They were such a fun family to photograph, and I hope that for the girls it felt more like a play session than something they had to work hard at...at least, that's how it felt for us! Here are some of my favorites from the day...


Joshua and Sheri had just returned from Hawaii with their girls from a family vacation, and brought back the "Do Not Disturb" sign from their hotel room. Natasha was so funny holding the sign for me - she kept peeking back to see what her parents were up to!

Joshua is one blessed dad...

Real life - I love this image! From the sisters sharing a laugh to the littlest one sticking out her tongue, to mom and dad walking at a safe distance behind the girls, it all works for me.



Joshua and Sheri, this photo session was three years in the making - I'm glad it finally came together! I hope that these images will bless your family for years to come. We love you guys!

A Throwback to the 1950's

A 1950's themed Swing Dance - what better reason to hit the vintage clothing stores, find period outfits and get made up to re-create the looks of our mothers and grandmothers? Oh yeah, and have a photo shoot to document it all! Having two teenage daughters to play with made this so much fun. Gabriel and I were blown away at how incredibly gorgeous and true to the era Ashley and Alyssa looked after getting their hair and makeup done and stepping into their 1950's party dresses. It was an amazing transformation!

There is something very captivating about the Hollywood glamor shots of the late 1940's and early 1950's, and I knew I wanted to re-create this look with the girls. We found a very dark, narrow hallway and used our video light to provide the source of illumination for these shots. I think we came very close to capturing the look and feel of the era with these images...

Before the party started, though, we made our way to downtown Seattle for a photo shoot. We were disappointed to get kicked out of one hotel for now obtaining prior authorization, so instead we walked along 5th Avenue and - doing things the right way - asked permission to use the lobby area of the 5th Avenue Theater. It actually was cool to use their billboards as a backdrop...





When it got too cold on the streets, we slipped into the Hilton to warm up. Fortunately, we were allowed to take a few quick pictures inside, and found it interesting that the furnishings were actually more retro and like a 1950's interior than the hotel we started out with.


Onto the party...a gymnasium filled with 200 teenagers, live music by Route 66, a big band creating sounds from the Swing Era, fog machines, soda fountains...it was a great evening!