Family Photo Session: Gilbert Run Park

Whenever I take pictures of families, it’s usually the mom who wants the photos. She’s the one who will email to set up the date, she’ll spend quite some time coordinating everyone’s outfits for the day, and more than likely she’ll be the calm, positive voice throughout the session, fending off any naysayers who might be a little camera shy. And while the mom in the family photos below was the one to initiate this session, it was her daughter who asked for a photo of just the two of them that she could take with her to college. And it was both her children who gently nudged her to have a portrait taken of just her because they think she’s beautiful. It reminded me that these pictures I’m taking — pictures that hundreds of photographers take every day — they matter. They represent home when you’re miles away, they’re visual documentation of your memories and they say that in this moment, you’re beautiful and loved exactly how you are.