Category: Portrait

Recently, we shared the backyard garden location from Paula and Bill’s family portrait session. You can see the photos here.

While having the session done is the first step, actually getting the photographs to
show off is the important part. The whole reason you go to the effort of getting your family together, all cleaned up and coordinated, is have those special photographs up on the wall so everyone can see them!

I love going into homes with a lot of wall portraits and smaller photographs displayed on shelves or counters. And, of course, Paula and Bill’s home is a great example.

When people go into someone’s home, they will often gravitate towards the photographs on the wall. Seeing old wedding portraits or baby photographs of kids now grown give visitors a special glimpse into the past. It’s like letting them in on a secret story from an all-but-forgotten time.

Paula and I walked through her rooms and discussed where these new portraits will go, along with looking at the older ones she will continue to display. I loved hearing her stories about her kids’ weddings and seeing all the grandchildren as toddlers.

I think it’s a good idea to keep those older portraits, even if they no longer get prime wall locations. It’s usually pretty easy to find a new wall to call home for those well-loved photographs, such as a hallway or bedroom.

The only issue for Paula was that she loved more images from this session than we could beautifully show off in her home.

The best answer was to do a family album, as well.

One of the best perks of a family album is how portable it is. When you are not able to get everyone to your home to see your lovely family hanging on your wall, you can take the photographs to them.

Along with the wall portraits and family album, we did miniature versions of the album. These pocket-sized books are a fun way to share the album with everyone, as they tuck into a purse and can be passed around easily.

We love being able to make great portraits that we know will be cherished and enjoyed for years. It’s wonderful to know how important these are for the families we work with to create them!

To celebrate their wedding anniversary, Paula and Bill’s kids knew that the only thing Paula wanted was to get the whole family together and have a portrait session.

And since this was to be the first time in many, many years that the whole family was going to be together in the same place all at the same time, it was important to get this session scheduled to lock in the date.

I think it’s especially meaningful to families when the location we do the session reflects their tastes and they have a connection to it. Paula has spent years cultivating her perfect backyard garden. The whole family has seen the garden grow and expand over the years from Paula’s careful attention and hard work. They have all enjoyed the view from the back patio and while sitting around the fire. This is a place they know and relax in.

So, it was an easy choice for her family portrait session location. There would have been no better place than Paula’s backyard.

When we get families together, we love to take advantage of the opportunity. Of course, we get the whole entire family together for a large group portrait, but we work through as many other combinations as we can. This is good for the individual families and also the special groupings, like all the cousins together.

When Paula and Bill’s family look at these photographs, not only are they going to love the people in them, but they are also going to enjoy the special setting, knowing how important it is to them all.