Wilson Family | Portraits

Enjoyed spending an unseasonably warm November afternoon with these folks! Here's a little sneak peek into their family session. You'll recognize Tabatha from her many appearances on my blog - as a subject and also a second shooter with me. Her mom and brother made the big trip and flew in from Oklahoma to spend time with her and she knew there was no better time to capture them all together.

Looking forward to sharing more of their session! 

{to big trips that can't keep us apart}

-jbw-

Truschel Family

It usually works out each year that the bulk of my work is focused on weddings and couples. so I am limited on the number of family portrait sessions that I commission. Usually they are families that I already have a relationship with, so I was excited when Loren submitted an me this fall to photograph her family as it was nice to expand realm a little. 

Photographing families is much the same as photographing anything else; and yet very different. Kids are busy and kids are very interested in being kids and usually not very invested in taking photos. So, my approach to family portraits is this - to capture your family organically interacting with one another. This means playing. Running. Jumping. Swinging. Laughing. Twirling. 

Whatever it is you do as a family when a camera isn't around is what I want you do when my camera is around. Just be you. Because that's what you're best at and that's what makes your family beautiful. 

My favorite memories of my own family are the ones when we were just being "us".  What I would give to have illustration to those memories.  That desire is what shapes my approach to how I photograph families. 

I love looking at these images of the Truschel family, because in them I see that they are just being them. Running. Hugging. Laughing. Playing an endless game of "one more time, Daddy!"

When they look back on this fleeting season and on their memories, I hope that I have done them justice with these illustrations. 

What I would give to have done them justice. 

{to illustrating memories}

-jbw-

Castro Family

Forget stopping to smell the roses. 

After seeing these shots you're going to want to stop and crunch the leaves! 

You may recognize these little faces from last year's fall shoot (or you may not, they've grown so much!) There's something so fun about family shoots. Unavoidably organic - because really, kids will be kids - you get 100% real and I love all 100% of the Castro family! It was fun to catch up with all of them and I enjoyed picking up on how they've grown and changed over the last year. 

Documenting a family is a weighty responsibility. One day, each of these children will be adults potentially with families of their own. They'll want to look back on the times that will have shaped them into the people they'll have become, and family photos are one of our most treasured ways to do that. Being able to know that I've captured a picture of the Castro family history is something that I cherish! When they look back on their family in 2013 I hope they see people who were full of adventure and overflowing with love. At least that's what I see!

{to family history}

-jbw-

Amy & Micah - Part I

It won't take you much time perusing my blog to know that I love my job. I adore being around couples in love, capturing their unique romance and creating memories for a lifetime. It's not an exaggeration to say that I thoroughly enjoy every session to the point that I've never left one without a smile on my face. 

I love LOVE. 

But oh my. Talk about raising my excitement level exponentially when the people in love are people whom I  love. Micah is my husband's brother and Amy his counter part, who I never knew was missing until the moment I saw them together. 

It didn't take us in the family very long to know how special Amy was to Micah and we are beyond thrilled to welcome her into the Ward troupe this fall. 

We had a lovely time together on the rocky beaches of Fort Fisher, North Carolina. It was the perfect canvas to color with their love.

In these images you will see two people who bring each other joy and it brings me joy to share them with you. I feel so blessed and privileged to serve Amy and Micah as clients, but abundantly more so to have them as family. 

{to abundant joy}

-jbw-

Meet the Stancils

You may recognize some of these faces from their family shoot I did about a year and a half ago. I've loved documenting this sweet family and seeing their kids grow (and my have they!) 

One fun part of family photography is getting to know the kids. For their portraits I like to spend time chatting with them; it helps put them at ease in front of the camera and when they're talking about something their excited about, they usually can't help but smile.

This shoot I got to talk about K-4 and show & tell day, an underwater fish town where squids are the police (and there's even a fish McDonalds), favorite sports teams, nail polish colors and more. 

This time around I also got to photograph more of the family - aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents! They were all together and I am so glad they decided to document it. 

There's no better time than now; to spend with family, to celebrate your love and to document who you are. The gift of memories will be cherished for generations to come. 

{to family}

-jbw-

Castro Family Portraits

The Castro family amazes me! Not only are they one of the best looking groups of people there is (as you will soon see) Roque and Beth are active members of the Culpeper community. Roque is the owner of Yesterday Reclaimed, an incredible furniture company that builds works of art from reclaimed farming equipment. I've had the pleasure of documenting some of their work and let me tell you, it's incredible stuff! He is also the artist behind the Culpeper "REEL LOVE" project which is just plain cool.  Beth is the founder of Culpeper Family, your one stop place to find everything a family needs to know about our town; from sports registration to school news to local family-friendly events.

We had a great time together documenting their family. Family shoots are fulfilling to me because I get to accomplish so many different goals; capturing the personalities of each child, seeing their dynamic as a group and sneaking mom and dad away for a few romantic shots. 

The Castro kids no doubt have amazing parents and their sweet, kind, and fun loving personalities mean they're growing up to be just like them! 

Without further adieu, meet the Castros! 

{to family}

-jbw-

  

Stancil Family Session

Holly and I met through our local Chi Omega Alumnae group when she hosted our Christmas dinner at her lovely home a few weeks ago.  I was thrilled when she contacted me about photographing her kids and family! I love kids.  Many years of babysitting and working in children's ministry have left me missing out on days spent with the littlest of people.  The Stancil kids were a hoot - full of personality and all-around-fun but more importantly, loving and kind.  All of the things I pray my kiddos will be someday.

The best thing about this family session is that it required very little direction on my part.  Every smile you see is genuine...no love was fabricated in the making of these photos!  I just sat back (or, well, laid on the ground occasionally) and clicked away!

I am thankful for the opportunity to get to photograph the Stancils and hope that they are able to treasure these fun moments for years to come!

{enjoy, friends!}

-jbw-

*don't forget to click this image to view the "lightbox" slideshow!*