From time to time, my husband’s job as a high school teacher sends business my way, and earlier this year, I was lucky enough to meet Heather and Brian, parents of three kids. I was hired to shoot a senior portrait for Andie, one of their beautiful daughters, on the campus of Davidson College. So, of course, I was thrilled when Heather told me that she was interested in booking another family session for the Spring. The shoot was for her mom, Ingrid, and the session would involve Heather and her family, her sister Erika’s family, and then Ingrid and her husband Ed.
The location required easy walkability and lots of flowers. I chose the campus of Queens University as our meeting spot. It’s a fantastic place for a photoshoot; the landscaping is just beautiful, and the buildings themselves are elegant props. We started out by Belk Chapel and then made a slow tour of the grounds, stopping here and there along the way. Everyone, kids and adults alike, had the best energy during the shoot. I could tell doing this for Heather and Erika’s mom meant a lot to all of them.
There are times when it can be a little unwieldy to work with large family groups, but the dynamic between Heather’s family, Erika’s family, and their mother and father was fantastic. Between the daughters’ two families, there are six kids—their ages are 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, and 8. What I found incredibly charming was that the kids from each family who were closest in age had these adorably close relationships with one another, like they’d just grown up parallel with one another as allies. They had also dressed perfectly for the occasion. Before the shoot, Heather and I had discussed wardrobe, and everyone showed up dressed in various pastel shades, with lots of blue and pink. No matching, but all so complimentary. No matter how they paired up, everyone looked truly fantastic.
I loved spending time with Ingrid and Ed, their children, and their children’s families. They were so kind, both to me and to one another, and it was impossible not to see how much they all cared for one another. When I heard that Ingrid enjoyed the shoot and adored the photos that came from it, I was delighted to have given her some lasting mementos of the beautiful family she has raised.
