My mom and I haven’t had professional photos taken of us in years, probably since I was eight, my boyfriend Brandon told me. She’s going to love this Mother’s Day/birthday present. We can talk about it more when you guys meet the day before the shoot.
Way to lay the pressure on, B…gonna meet my boyfriend’s mom for the first time the day before I’m going to photograph her for her birthday present with her favorite child of all time. No big deal.
Actually, it wasn’t. 😉 When I met Joyce for the first time a couple weeks ago it was a sunny day in Seattle and the three of us spent a few hours at Alki Beach. She’s so quick to smile and has such a jovial personality. One of the most extroverted people I’ve met, she was saying hello to everyone we passed on Alki and offering them a compliment, a hello, or even – in the case of a 92-year-old man walking with his son – a hug. All I could do was smile and laugh as Brandon shook his head. I knew these two were going to be wonderful to photograph the next day.
One thing that did have me up researching prior to the photo shoot was, How the heck do I pose an adult mother and son for an hour portrait session? While I’ve photographed many families, I’ve never photographed just two adults who are not a couple (apart from a quick photo here and there at a reception or something). I’m thinking, obviously I can’t pose them romantically, but what is appropriate for this situation? (I have photographed some adult families before, so that gave me some experience – but still, with four+ people I had a variety of combinations.) I perused the web for some inspiration and tips, but all I really found were some poses of mothers with their young children. I studied a few that I thought would transfer well with adults, and from there just trusted my gut and how Brandon and his mom interacted with each other. I think the images below are proof that everything worked out just fine. 🙂
Brandon chose to have the portrait session at Lincoln Park in West Seattle because his mom, who was visiting from Las Vegas, loves all of the trees and seeing the water. It truly is breathtaking scenery, and a lovely backdrop for the day. We had such a fun time. Just the other day I got a thank you card from Joyce saying how this was the best birthday present ever. I’m so honored to have been part of it.
They are total goofballs together…
…but also extremely endearing.
Joyce let me take some portraits of just her. After all, this was for her birthday!
Moms always win…it’s just a rule. 😉
I love this sequence. 🙂
Aren’t they cuties!
Had to snap a few portraits of Brandon, too, of courrrrssse. I didn’t mind. 😉
Joyce wanted to make sure Brandon and I got a photo together. I gave her a few pointers and this is what she captured!
Have to end with this view…
