This family was on vacation from Pennsylvania visiting Maine for the first time! They decided to take their trip all the way up the coast to Acadia National Park and settle for a few days going on hikes and playing by the beach with their almost one year old and dog! They were celebrating their anniversary and wanted some family photos to commemorate this season in life! What a joy it is to get to capture a family as they make memories that they will remember forever!

When I enter a family session I make sure everyone is prepared beforehand! You should always make sure everyone is well rested and well fed. You don’t want to have just woken up though, you need to readjust to the real world and get your zoomies out! You also still want to have some snacks just in case people need a break in between for extra energy! Have everyone use the restroom before the session starts and be prepared to have fun!

I also help people know what outfits to wear- I don’t shy away from color! I love when people bring their bright and vibrant outfits to their sessions! I always reccommend doing something that compliments the scenery though and to keep in mind where the location is- ie if you will be getting wet or muddy! Textures and mixing things up is always a bonus too! Don’t want to be boring and all the same! At the end of the day confidence goes a long way!

Now to the final thing to help with your family session: a bag! Put all your things in it so your pockets are empty and you have everything close while contained! Also great for bringing wipes, extra clothes, food and water! Oh and don’t let me forget props! Bring a blanket, a toy, a trinket, a memento, and activity! Anything that will enhance not only your photos but your photo experience! You want these pictures to feel like you and how you all authentically interact with one another!

Back to this family in particular: they brought their dog which I always love! Some notes of advice- if possible (in their case it wasn’t) bring a dog wrangler with you so they can keep the dog entertained and controlled while you are doing some photos without them! And I would also lower expectations of getting a perfectly posed photo of everyone- after all, they are a dog. You can also bring any animal you want to a session: snake, horse, cat, bunny, turtle and so on!

I felt so high after this session. I loved every second of it. I had done a lot of weddings and high stress situations around the time this session happened. And this melted it all away. I just light up around families. There is something about them. Even before I became a mother myself. I always loved family sessions with littles! I definitely have done a lot of them- more than any other type of photography so that might play a part. They are precious.

But seriously this family was a breath of fresh air and I could have been on that beach all night. I also love Acadia and it was my first time back in over a year. Plus my first session there. So to say dreams were coming true is an understatement. I would love to do more shoots there. I think I also finally felt like I was in a grove, in my element, and making headway here in Maine. See I am still trying to establish my business here. I don’t get the same photo high as I do when I am in California mostly.

Maybe because this family was my ideal client, reminding me of my amazing clients back in SoCal. Either way. I was blessed. The Schocke family finally got their proper shout out. Lindsey and more importantly Mille were amazing. I just adored taking photos of her. Children are so precious. I hope I get to continue to build clientele in Maine. So sad they don’t live here but hope that they come back to visit! I can’t wait to be in flow. To see my clients every year. The dream.

Well, with all that being said. Sandy Beach is a perfect location. Rocks, sand, marsh, mountains, and more all in one spot! I love the end of summer being of fall. Although I appreciate the winter I long for those long days and warm nights. A lot of time recently has been me sick (why this is posted later on Monday) and therefore, I spend a lot of it inside. It is also cold and hard to force myself outside in the world with a baby. Now I have a puppy.

Hope you are all well. Thank you for reading my blog post. An extension of myself and a longer form from Instagram. I will probably repurpose some of this on Instagram later. So you get the exclusive behind the scenes. Stay healthy. And comment a response to this post like would in your forced school seminars- no one properly comments a response anymore. What a shame. Okay, ramble over. Until next Monday. Hopefully I am doing this all right.