“My daughter recently turned two, and we’ve never had professional family portraits,” said the message from Matt, asking us to call him.

Our initial discussions about outdoor locations centered on various venues for spring cherry blossoms, but not wanting to brave the hordes of tourists and visitors in the most popular DC-area locales, Matt and his wife eventually got hooked on the idea of a portrait safari through Rock Creek Park in Washington DC, along a trail that they like to frequently walk. I knew Matt was excited about our upcoming family portraits when after our first phone call, he was already sending me cell phone photos of rooms in their house where they might like to hang wall portraits from their family photo session. (As a family photographer, I find that it really helps for couples to begin thinking about how they might want to display their family portraits, as having some idea of what they’re envisioning helps me to guide the photography session in the appropriate direction.)

The day of the session, I found Matt and his wife and 2-year old daughter, Jane, at our Rock Creek Park meeting point with a big, orange bouncy horse and several stuffed animals in tow. And oh boy, Jane was absolutely adorable, with her large blue-grey eyes gazing wide-eyed at the camera. She loved to explore, pick up rocks with her toes, and run off down the trail mid-clothing change, looking back at us with a mischievous expression, as only a 2-year old knows how. (Oh, and she also loved pushing mommy & daddy together to make them kiss!)

In the end, Matt and his wife chose a 6-piece mixed media love grouping – three wall portraits printed on metal and three more on canvas – ranging from 20×30 to 8×12 in size. (Check back for another blog post showing the finished grouping!) “I love them!” Matt said happily when he came to pick up the finished artwork the following month. I love them too. Enjoy!

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