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Every four years, the Karen’s extended family heads to Mission Beach for a long-running tradition that began in 1986. I photographed Karen and Tom and their three oldest children Kaitlyn, Brandon, and Blake, in 2021, and just a few weeks later they found out their bonus baby, Grayson, was on the way! Karen took the opportunity to get everybody in the shot this year and reserved early! We met up at Crystal Pier, one of my favorite spots for beach photos.

Trey and Julia had just moved to El Cajon when his family planned a visit from Texas. Trey’s mom and sister aren’t thrilled about them living so far away, but they’re definitely excited to have a new vacation spot—and a free place to stay! With all these Texas A&M Aggies together in San Diego, surprising Mom with beach photos felt like the perfect way to mark the trip.

Paul’s family was racing the calendar: daughter Katelyn was bound for an 18-month mission in Argentina, and son Coby was gearing up to marry his fiancée, Mekenna—an event Katelyn would sadly miss, along with watching her baby nephew Rhett grow. They needed to freeze these precious, fleeting moments of togetherness before life carried them off in different directions.