It happens so often that when someone calls to schedule a session with me, we discover—usually within minutes—that we share friends, or that we majored in the same field in college, or any of a thousand other things. That was certainly the case when Josh called to get a family portrait on the calendar. Almost immediately, I learned that Josh, Maggie, and their kids, Ella and Bryson, had just moved back to Charlotte, where Josh is from originally. They had been in Utah, where Josh worked in the solar energy field—also my major in college—and had come home to raise their kids. I also discovered that Josh and I had high school friends in common, a neat trick since we went to different Charlotte area high schools. I love how these little coincidences happen in my job. At any rate, they booked a date, and a few weeks later I met Josh and his beautiful family.
The session was incredibly relaxed and natural. Even though they had never had a professional family portrait before, there was no anxiety on their part about any of what I was doing. I don’t think anyone even wore shoes for the first half of the session. We just spent time in the front yard, and took a little walk to the pond across the street, and Josh and Maggie hung out with the kids as they played. And their children were precious. Ella, who is 7, adores her American Girl dolls, and also loves to sing, dance, and swim. She’s chock-full of energy and quick to warm to new people. During the session, Ella proudly rode her new bike for me—it was so sweet. Bryson, Ella’s little brother, is 3, and like most little boys, he also has an engine that never seems to run out of gas. Right now, he’s into monster trucks, dinosaurs, and pretty much any kind of ball.
From what Josh and Maggie told me, and from what I picked up during the session, I could tell that these were siblings who were really starting to like one another. They even hang out alone, away from mom and dad. As a mother of two young critters myself, I can’t even begin to tell you how much I look forward to that day… I so enjoyed having the chance to photograph this family. Their love for one another was so obvious, and I felt immediately welcomed into their circle.
