Family Session Lakeland, FL

I had planned on posting a session last Sunday…but then I heard about the Texas church shooting. I suppose you could say that I’m an “empath”. I feel things deeply; even when it doesn’t directly affect me. I mourn people I don’t know. Mass shootings are always horrible…but when children are involved it just breaks me. I needed time to myself; “step away and pray”. It could be very easy for me to fall into a dark, sad place filled with fear and worry thinking that this is our world now. But I know that for all of the darkness there is so much more light. So instead of letting the darkness consume me I’m letting the light fill me. I’m focusing on the good in this world; not the bad. I’m focusing on the beauty, not the ugly.
So it’s perfect that the session I’m posting tonight is of this family. They are sweet, genuine, good people.

There is also a funny story behind this session (which also proves how good natured they are). When we first got to Lake Mirror it started sprinkling so the girls went to find shelter and the guys stayed where they were. A bird was resting on the wall and it did not seem fazed by them. The bird let them touch him and hold him…for a moment. Then when he tried to fly away from them he ended up in the lake. That is when we realized that he was hurt. He was flapping his wings trying to get out of the water but he couldn’t. Two large swans started towards him aggressively; he desperately tried to fly up but just could not. We were all starting to freak out because after all, it was our fault he was in this situation. So Chase climbed over the wall and into the lake to save him. It seemed very dramatic until we realized the water was only one foot deep. Once the bird was safely back on the wall he started hauling butt away from us. I couldn’t even get a picture with Chase and the bird after he was rescued. He was over us.

This was my first session with all adults…I’m mostly used to families with toddlers or babies. So it was definitely a different experience for me. It made me realize I need to focus on actual poses. I lean towards natural moments but I should be able to guide them into those natural positions. That is something that I am learning.