Our summer vacation was in Florida this year . . . Captiva Island. It was beautiful. Hot. Humid. But there were people we loved everywhere we looked in our big Airbnb, the Gulf of America just down the street, and abundant coffeehouses, ice cream shops, and restaurants within walking distance. It was a great place to get away from the usual and experience a different kind of beach.

We arrived on July 4, the 250th anniversary of the USA, and we joined the mosquitos in enjoying a picnic on the sand while watching fireworks in the distance. We’d already been to Celebrate America at Shadow Mountain Community Church the week before, so we’d checked the "fireworks up close" box, and this was an adequately patriotic end to our big travel day. For our professional photos by Amy Weiler Photography, we chose a blue and white palette with a splash of red for the celebration.




Of all the many, many photo sessions I’ve attended or administered, this one turned out to be the most terrifying. I mean, there’s definitely something scary about your battery dying or your SD card filling up, or your shutter breaking midway through a session, but it’s a whole different thing when the weather threatens to take you and your family out all at once.






We were all dressed, hair done, make-up applied, teenagers bossed. We hit the road, ready to pretend to be naturals in front of the camera. Halfway to the meeting place, Amy (the photographer . . . the Florida photographer) called me to say there was a STORM hitting that beach and we needed to change locations. She wasn’t kidding. The storm was coming fast . . . and it had lightning!








Long story short, we marched our family out to the sand and drill-sergeanted the fastest, most efficient 20-minute extended family session I have ever been part of, all the while watching the lightning flash in the distance and hearing the thunder answer back RIGHT AWAY. Terrifying. Our only comfort was in knowing that in comparison to the Rickert boys who were with us, we Cothrans were short. When photo sessioning in Florida, BYO lightning rod!















































































I’m so grateful to Amy Weiler for NOT cancelling on us and, instead, risking her own life to make sure we had beautiful Florida memories.
Dreaming of photos like these for your own family? Let’s plan your session.










