We met up at sunrise, in front of the condo where this family has been vacationing ever since their dad was the same age as his kids are now. The twins were yawning when they came down onto the beach, and it seemed like the sun was yawning too as it worked its way up through the clouds.

But then the kids traded their yawns for jokes and acrobatics (stay tuned…they got one of the boys to end their session with a back flip). The clouds and the waves glowed shimmery platinum. And this family made a house full of tweens and teens seem like so much fun.For just a few minutes, the sky went all apricot on us.
This is one of my favorite parts of shooting family portrait sessions — carving out a few quiet moments for just the parents to enjoy, when they’re usually up to their eyeballs chauffeuring kids to sports or making meals or folding laundry. These two hadn’t had any portraits of just the two of them since their wedding, more than fifteen years ago!
When you ask five kids what they want to do for their siblings portrait….
Could they have picked a prettier color palette for an overcast day at the beach?!
Most of the families I photograph have really small children — but when a family’s kids are big enough to all follow directions, I dust off my old bridal party posing ideas!
Aaaand the back flip! The younger siblings were really, really excited for their brother to do this and wanted to stage this picture first thing — but their parents wisely decided that anything that ran the risk of a hospital visit should be saved until the very end of the session. (Note: no hospital visit was required! He landed five or six back flips like it was nothing, all before 8 a.m.)
Thanks to all seven of you for a super fun morning!

~ Laura