29 people. 22 adults and 7 children.
That's a whole lotta love in one photo.
Frannie is the smart looking woman in the abstract shirt, smack in the middle of all those children she made and all of her children's children. She's the one that organized this entire photoshoot on Figure Eight Island in Wilmington, NC and to do that I'm sure was no easy feat. She made it look EASY. Everyone showed up on time and I was shocked! I never judge with timeliness when it comes to reunion photoshoots and usually when that many people are in the equation there's bound to be that one child that won't get into a car seat but it was like everything that evening was meant to happen. Their family was meant to get these photos because every single child (and adult) was just happy as a clam. And for me, this compared to those extended family photos after wedding events but this was a relaxed beach session so easy peasy! You could tell everyone was just happy to be together with their mama/grandmama and Herb, her husband. Their body language towards her showed so much respect. Frannie is a beloved matriarch of the family in every sense of the word!
While we had everyone all dressed up and looking snazzy, we got each family's photos, that included the couples that didn't have kids too. I mean, when was the last time you had a photo with your husband of 10+ years? Probably early 2005 right? Time is fleeting, so it's an honor to be able to pause it even for an hour. Thank you to the Browns and her beautiful loving family for sharing a gorgeous sunset with me.
Isn't it funny how three seconds can make a huge difference while photographing children?
And I absolutely love both of these photos for different reasons. Gotta love a crying baby because it keeps family portraiture real. Not everyone has to be perfect at all times! Sometimes being surrounded by a lot of people who are giving you A LOT of attention can be overwhelming and overstimulating! No one is doing anything wrong and these precious babies are all allowed to have feelings. As long as parents embrace that imperfection is actually amazing, it really makes for a precious photo.