A little time.
A familiar place.
I’ve photographed the Hatzungs four or five times over the years. This time, their oldest daughter was briefly home after graduating from culinary school, and they wanted to get everyone together for updated family photographs.
We moved the date once, then made it happen right in their backyard.
They have a marsh behind the house that made a beautiful background. I borrowed an Adirondack chair from around their fire pit and brought it over beside a tree. I liked how the trunk leaned toward the family. Keeping it in the photograph gave the scene texture and a warmer feeling.
Finding the light
It was a warm afternoon, so we kept things moving. We photographed everyone together, then mom with the girls, the three sisters, and a few individual portraits. Those little updates are always nice to have alongside the family photograph.
Behind the photograph · a note on light
I like working in the last couple of hours before sunset. Here, I placed everyone at the edge of the shade, with the sun behind them catching their hair. A little light from my portable flash brought their faces into balance with the background.
The little updates matter, too.
Same chair, a little closer. A photograph of each girl for mom.
A man and
his best friend.
We finished with Nate and Hank on the little dock extending into the marsh. It only reaches about ten feet into the reeds, but it was just the spot for a portrait of the two of them.
The whole session took about thirty minutes, including setup. Afterward, I joined the family for dinner—a chance to catch up with people I’ve enjoyed photographing over the years.
That’s one of the things I love about returning to a family. Each session adds another piece to their story.
Robert