The Ellis Clan.
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Say hi to my friends, the Ellis Family. A photogenic and fun foursome who have hired me for family photos 3 times. The first time we did this Charlie wasn’t walking yet and had a fantastic thing going on with his hair where he looked like he was working a serious comb-over. He was in a lot of photos that time around since he wasn’t very mobile. This time around…. well things were different. It took all 3 adults to keep track of him!
His laughter in the photo above tells me things are about to get crazy. But in a good way!
These two are so natural in front of the camera.
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But that is sometimes the reality of kids of a certain age, which is why my images tend to lean more towards the documenting of this time in your lives rather than a photo shoot that is one posed shot after another. There aren’t too many 2-4 year olds who would be down with that at all.
But that doesn’t bother me. I also wasn’t bothered by Maggie’s bruised cheek, as they had just come from her soccer game. That is simply their reality the day we did the shoot. Whatever people have going on the day of a shoot, we just roll with it, because for me this is who they are at this time.
I know I have to shoot fast with him
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Headed off on some adventures.
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This is literally how she looks when she’s talking to me, telling me about her life, etc.
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The day will come when Charlie isn’t running around, cracking himself up and trying to escape any adult that comes near him. The day will also come when Maggie isn’t so naturally affectionate with her parents. Maybe. But luckily we captured pieces of this time, and somewhere down the road the photos will remind them of this hot day when their kids were different.
He looks like he is cracking himself up in this one.
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Fake teeth are always fun. And can really add to photos.
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I love her body posture in this one.
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Which is why I think family photos are so important. People tell me all the time they want them done, but not everyone follows through. I have noticed moms worry about money and time and skin irritations or bad haircuts or mood swings, etc. But I say that is all part of growing up and it’s ok to get photos when your child has a bruise or a scrape or something else. It’s okay if part way through clothes or hair get a little messy. If you make family photos a regular part of your life (every year, every other, every third) then it may seem less worrisome if something happens to a family member the week of your shoot. If your child shows up in a cast I will smile and know the photos will actually mean even more because something happened that week that may not have been planned, and may not have been easy, but will certainly be remembered.
And it’s just one more element we can use to make sure our shoot is fun and unique!
Time to tackle Mom & Dad!
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Ha! Pigpile on Mom!
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Knowing I was dealing with an energetic kid I appealed to him by plotting an attack on Mom & Dad. This does not happen on every shoot, but sometimes when the grass or the sand is soft enough and the kids are getting restless and I need to find a way to make everyone laugh…
Then it happens.
But then this happens. And everyone has kind of a sweet moment together. And I love that stuff.
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Me. On set. In the rain. Photo by Tony Calarco.
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