All in.

At the end of last year I decided to stop shooting extended family sessions, for most of the same reasons I don’t have a desire to shoot weddings. Don’t get me wrong, I love grandma and grandpa! But the super posed “everyone smile at the camera” stuff just isn’t for me, and every session just feels so rushed. The client who books and organizes everyone is usually mom, who just ends up stressed out and tense the whole time (for good reason). I mean, I could go on and on, but these things effect the session because I feed so much on energy, of individuals and relationships. I know it’s always going to be a little chaotic, even just coordinating a simple family shoot… but at a certain point, I am always able to pull mom and dad out of “prep mode” enough to relax, play together and engage. With extended family sessions, I haven’t had much luck… Until I did this session.

This session was already on the books when I decided no more. And, I was apprehensive to share it here because I tend not to promote if it’s not the type of business I wish to attract, but I couldn’t help myself – I love this session so much. So, I stopped and took a minute to think about why this one was different. Perhaps it was because they all seemed so relaxed? Perhaps they have less drama than the average family (no judgements here, trust me)? Perhaps it’s because they are repeat clients? Or maybe it’s that they ask for (and always take) my suggestions for perfect time and location to get the best light? I couldn’t quite figure it out…

All in all, I think it’s that I like to have some control. And, the more people we have at a session the less control I have… as we are trying to coordinate varying nap times and schedules, varying preferences on how far people want to drive, varying opinions on what types of images everyone wants from the session. All of this adds chaos to the planning and mood going into the session. I’m a believer that the more open minded and flexible everyone is, the more free I am to create some really beautiful images for you. So, I decided not to say “no more” quite yet. If you keep an open mind I will too, and perhaps I will just ask more questions from now on, before taking it on. Because after all, I would love to provide more images like this for my clients and their loved ones…. so long as everyone shows up in a good mood. 🙂