This mama is making time for special memories for her son’s birthday every single year. This year, the special occasion was at the Hotel del Coronado, and I had a
Charlene’s family is in that in-between season when the kids are young adults, but it’s not quite time for grandkids yet! This is a time of life when family portraits sometimes gets skipped because there aren’t the tiny little childhood faces to capture . . . but the relationships and personalities are just as valuable, and these years are just as fleeting. Charlene says that if she were to give her younger self some advice, it would be this: “Absolutely book the shoot!! More frequently, yearly if possible. Everyone changes so quickly, and most of my kids are adults now.”
This big extended family and I have gotten together every summer since 2014 for their annual portrait session! The kids are getting older and, to be honest, a whole lot easier to photograph! Here’s their 2017 session, for comparison’s sake!
This year I was so happy to see a giant cloud covering the sun, creating perfect portrait light with the Hotel Del in the background! We have squeezed in a few hotel shots at the end of some of our sessions in previous years, but this was a whole different opportunity, and I loved it. While I grabbed the posed family shots in front of the Del, Everin got individual portraits and less formal shots, resulting in the usual gigantic gallery combining traditional posed images and candids. Then, to end everything off, the sunset was incredible!
It was a gorgeous day on Coronado when I met up with the B family this year! Their last session was right at the end of 2020, and it was a December session—a little chilly, but still sunny. This time we hit the beach in the summer and enjoyed warmer temperatures and a really similar, sunny day. It’s fun to see the contrast between the two sessions and Airisha’s flair for styling her girls in adorable matching dresses—2020, winter blues; 2023, summer greens.
There’s no better time than a company off-site retreat to get some great team and individual images for the website. I loved meeting the team from SBS Comms, a public relations agency enjoying their time in San Diego for meetings and team building. The Fairmont Grand Del Mar provided beautiful backgrounds for their headshots and group images, and I think we all had a great time making natural images that show what joyful, smart people make up the SBS Comms team.
I consider it a gift to be able to capture this little growing-up family, even when their favorite beach choices take us somewhere extra-splashy, like La Jolla! I never thought to include a pirate sword in a family portrait session, but after Coco’s demonstration, I’m beginning to think I might need to add one to my prop bag, along with a cowboy hat. It was a magical evening with lots of flouncy dresses, spinning, and getting clobbered by waves. A+
It was wonderful to photograph the Sundermeyers again this summer after four eventful years. Seana recently finished her doctoral degree in teaching English, so she had wonderful words for me when I asked her to describe her family and our session together.
Sometimes it’s too bright on the beach to start a session right on the shore, but I was thrilled to find this incredible sky hovering over La Jolla at just the right time! Portia and her guys, including two sets of adorable boys, were most interested in candid photos, so we spent most of our time doing what I love best—running all over the place and playing games on the shore. I think I will remember this session forever.
JT’s family was ready for a new round of portraits, since their last session was four years ago during his proposal. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and they were a dream to photograph in the buttery light. We got all the sweet sister, daddy-daughter, and step-mom poses, along with some fun couple shots of the not-so-newlyweds!
Brooklyn came all the way from Wisconsin and made a point to get senior portraits while she was on Coronado. She was the perfect model, and I tried out ALLL the poses with her, including a really fun long-exposure shot at the end. Love that two of her favorites were photos with her mom. ❤️
Lisa said she would be back again this year, and she was true to her word! I loved meeting this New York family last year at the Hotel del Coronado, and this year, though they were staying in La Jolla(https://lajollabythesea.com/), she took my advice and we shot at Crystal Pier(http://www.crystalpier.com/) in Pacific Beach(https://amygrayphotography.com/gallery/beach/crystal-pier-pacific-beach/). Her family was decked out in blue check gingham, and although some parties were not too happy about getting in the water, you can’t tell it from the photos, can you? It was a memorable time for sure, and I love the way their family interacts with each other in such a fun way. Hope to see them again in 2024!
This mama is making time for special memories for her son’s birthday every single year. This year, the special occasion was at the Hotel del Coronado, and I had a
Charlene’s family is in that in-between season when the kids are young adults, but it’s not quite time for grandkids yet! This is a time of life when family portraits sometimes gets skipped because there aren’t the tiny little childhood faces to capture . . . but the relationships and personalities are just as valuable, and these years are just as fleeting. Charlene says that if she were to give her younger self some advice, it would be this: “Absolutely book the shoot!! More frequently, yearly if possible. Everyone changes so quickly, and most of my kids are adults now.”
This big extended family and I have gotten together every summer since 2014 for their annual portrait session! The kids are getting older and, to be honest, a whole lot easier to photograph! Here’s their 2017 session, for comparison’s sake!
This year I was so happy to see a giant cloud covering the sun, creating perfect portrait light with the Hotel Del in the background! We have squeezed in a few hotel shots at the end of some of our sessions in previous years, but this was a whole different opportunity, and I loved it. While I grabbed the posed family shots in front of the Del, Everin got individual portraits and less formal shots, resulting in the usual gigantic gallery combining traditional posed images and candids. Then, to end everything off, the sunset was incredible!
It was a gorgeous day on Coronado when I met up with the B family this year! Their last session was right at the end of 2020, and it was a December session—a little chilly, but still sunny. This time we hit the beach in the summer and enjoyed warmer temperatures and a really similar, sunny day. It’s fun to see the contrast between the two sessions and Airisha’s flair for styling her girls in adorable matching dresses—2020, winter blues; 2023, summer greens.
There’s no better time than a company off-site retreat to get some great team and individual images for the website. I loved meeting the team from SBS Comms, a public relations agency enjoying their time in San Diego for meetings and team building. The Fairmont Grand Del Mar provided beautiful backgrounds for their headshots and group images, and I think we all had a great time making natural images that show what joyful, smart people make up the SBS Comms team.
I consider it a gift to be able to capture this little growing-up family, even when their favorite beach choices take us somewhere extra-splashy, like La Jolla! I never thought to include a pirate sword in a family portrait session, but after Coco’s demonstration, I’m beginning to think I might need to add one to my prop bag, along with a cowboy hat. It was a magical evening with lots of flouncy dresses, spinning, and getting clobbered by waves. A+
It was wonderful to photograph the Sundermeyers again this summer after four eventful years. Seana recently finished her doctoral degree in teaching English, so she had wonderful words for me when I asked her to describe her family and our session together.
Sometimes it’s too bright on the beach to start a session right on the shore, but I was thrilled to find this incredible sky hovering over La Jolla at just the right time! Portia and her guys, including two sets of adorable boys, were most interested in candid photos, so we spent most of our time doing what I love best—running all over the place and playing games on the shore. I think I will remember this session forever.
JT’s family was ready for a new round of portraits, since their last session was four years ago during his proposal. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and they were a dream to photograph in the buttery light. We got all the sweet sister, daddy-daughter, and step-mom poses, along with some fun couple shots of the not-so-newlyweds!
Brooklyn came all the way from Wisconsin and made a point to get senior portraits while she was on Coronado. She was the perfect model, and I tried out ALLL the poses with her, including a really fun long-exposure shot at the end. Love that two of her favorites were photos with her mom. ❤️
Lisa said she would be back again this year, and she was true to her word! I loved meeting this New York family last year at the Hotel del Coronado, and this year, though they were staying in La Jolla(https://lajollabythesea.com/), she took my advice and we shot at Crystal Pier(http://www.crystalpier.com/) in Pacific Beach(https://amygrayphotography.com/gallery/beach/crystal-pier-pacific-beach/). Her family was decked out in blue check gingham, and although some parties were not too happy about getting in the water, you can’t tell it from the photos, can you? It was a memorable time for sure, and I love the way their family interacts with each other in such a fun way. Hope to see them again in 2024!
