If this family looks familiar to you, it's because I've been photographing them for 5 years now! Wow! Their family portraits from 2014 were on the blog last fall (see them here!) and now I have the pleasure to bring you this year's session!
Working with this family has always been exciting - I met them when their son was a newborn when I worked in a studio, then I met their brand new daughter and captured her baptism a couple years later, and now I meet them every year to get "at least one good family photo" for their Christmas card. I use the quotes there because every year, little Oliver and Lydia challenge us.
It has become a joke for John, Meera, and I. They joke that their kids are the worst (when in reality, they're not! They're just 2 and 5 and don't want to pose for the camera! What little kid does?) and tell me to just get one! "We just need one, Sara, just one!" Meera laughs as Oliver runs from her side once more.
All joking aside, I have such fun working with this family. John and Meera are two of the kindest people I have ever met and their little munchkins are as adorable as they are rambunctious.
Honestly, it can be quite the challenge photographing little kids. It's fun, though. I expect the craziness and I expect meltdowns. They're kids! I just wear my sneakers, eat my Wheaties beforehand, and run along with them. All while snapping away with my camera.
Some grandma & grandpa love
Though it's exciting capturing family photos alone, this year I got to experience an extraordinarily exciting day. On my way to their location early on a Saturday morning - Bristol, RI is about an hour and a half from where I live - I experienced my first flat tire! I was already an hour from home so I didn't see the point in re-scheduling when I was only 30 minutes from our meeting spot. I am still amazed at how well I handled it overall!
I made it to the photo shoot an hour late but the Simoes are so kind and sweet and had no problem meeting me a little later than planned. It was an insanely hot day with no clouds in sight so we lost the kids' attention pretty darn quick, but in the end, I got some great shots that made Meera and John happy so it was all worth it!
We plan to meet up again once it's cooled down some for some cozy fall photos - hopefully this time without any car troubles!
