Family Pictures at the Beach

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: family photos are worth the investment. We try to take pictures once a year, because besides the candid iPhone snaps I take, or the overly-posed school pictures, it’s not often that we have an actual good picture of all of us together. And now that there are five of us, I really need a professional behind the camera. When I was thinking of where to take them, it was an easy decision: family pictures at the beach.

When it came time to take our photos last year I knew exactly where I wanted them: because when you live 30 minutes from the most perfect backdrop you can think of in California, you take full advantage of that and schedule a session during that stunning golden hour. Family pictures at the beach was something I’ve always wanted, so I was excited to see it come to fruition.

We actually had our pictures scheduled for a couple of weeks earlier, but SoCal was going through a heat wave, so we nixed the idea of sweating during our fall/winter pictures. Thankfully, our second date was perfect—like really, really perfect.

I asked Chrissy Walther, who took Logan’s homecoming pictures (that I just realized I also never shared with you; they’re coming, promise), if she would shoot our family session, and she happily obliged. I love how down to earth she is, and that she has kids of her own. She knows that little ones are unpredictable, and also knows how to get them to stop for half a second so she can snap a quick photo of them. If you’re in San Diego, look her up!

Once again, I have too many favorites, and have no idea how I’ll make a decision on which to get printed and hang up on our wall.

I love seeing my kids play together in nature. They look so free, wild, and frankly, acting like kids!

I pray these photos will be with them forever. They’re certainly fun to look at now, but I can only imagine how they’ll be treasured decades from now.

These babies will only be little for so long. Before I know it, they’ll be immersed in technology, their friends, sports, activities, and who knows what else. I will literally treasure these photos—this snapshot in time from when they were little and carefree.