CAKE SMASH & FAMILY SESSION IN VIRGINIA | WASHINGTON, DC FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER
When I arrived to their residence on a sunny Sunday afternoon, M, the mom has met me to show me a couple of location options for our cake smash & family session. We walked towards a picnic area with a nice fountain on the background. She had told me about a session she and her husband had done before when they got married on the stairs near the picnic area. She mentioned that maybe it would be nice to do a family picture alongside their wedding picture to show their growing family. I agreed.
We then walked over to where their clubhouse is. The indoor area was stunning! It has glass walls, an exquisite chandelier, cozy looking couches, and that luxurious feel to it. I can absolutely tell that their photos will look amazing in this room.
M, then told me it is up to me where I want to shoot. When I need to choose between a stunning location versus a location that has a special part or meaning in my client’s lives, without any second thoughts I will choose the latter. Because I focus on my clients and the moments that are unfolding right in front of me. If the location means a lot to the client, then that will make our family session so much more memorable. The pictures will mean so much more to them when they look back at them years from now.
Shortly after we walked back to the picnic area, M arrived with O, her husband, and G, their daughter who was adorably dressed in a white dress with silver butterflies. We kicked off our session with family portraits, followed by some solo pictures of the birthday girl, G. We then proceeded to do our cake smash session.
Unfortunately, our cake smash session didn’t work out as well as we had hoped. Baby G got sick & didn’t like the icing on her. She cried when the icing would touch her skin. We tried some things we thought might work, but all of our attempts just had G crying. But for a baby who was sick, she was surely a rockstar!!!
What I really admire about M during this time was the fact that she remained calm the whole time. She reminded me that with everything in life, some things just don’t go as planned. Leaving from our cake smash & family portrait session, M’s words got stuck in my head. She is absolutely right!!! We can plan everything all we want, even up to the littlest details, but sometimes things are just meant to not work out.
M – Thank you for letting me into your lives. It was truly an honor capturing G’s cake smash and your beautiful growing family. Thank you for reminding me that it’s not important to have everything go perfectly in your plans; what matters is that you were with the people who you love the most and were able to make memories together. I can’t wait for our next session and see how much baby G would have grown by then! 🙂
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‘Til next time,
Belle
