Family Getting Nailed by Giant Wave

La Jolla Family Photography | Making a Splash at Windansea

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 get 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.”

The great thing about photographing young adults is that they are great at listening to directions and really going for it when duty calls! In this case, the whole family was running VERY late due to travel difficulties. It was literally ten minutes before sunset when we started our Windansea session, and a few members of Charlene’s family were even behind the first group. Nevertheless, they were ALL IN, each of them . I couldn’t believe it, but in those precious, crazy minutes, we actually ended up with a huge edited gallery of over 90 images! I love how Charlene tells the story from her perspective in this sweet review ❤️:

We were hectic, frantic, dealing with delayed flights, and trying to coordinate a large family with adult children who were juggling their own careers and travel plans. Coming together for a brief time in my hometown of San Diego, I was excited to arrange a photoshoot and document what 30 years of marriage represented to us—fun, laughter and numerous memories shared along the La Jolla coastline. We were running a good 30 minutes late for our photoshoot and we were finally ready to meet Amy at our location. Immediately she was a calm, take-charge force that knew exactly how to orchestrate eight people to get the shots I desperately wanted. It was crunch time with the sun setting quick. She had us laughing, interacting, and relaxed as soon as our toes hit the water. This set us at ease, and because I had already seen her work, I knew she was extremely competent. Her expertise, input, and constant communication are top notch. We went with her recommended location and are just thrilled with the results.

Young woman in white dress running through shallow surf at sunset
Woman in purple dress and man in light shirt on beach at golden hour
Woman and man holding hands walking along the shoreline at Windansea
Woman in blue dress and man in light shirt standing in shallow surf
Young woman in blue dress standing on wet sand at the beach
Young woman in white dress standing in shallow water at Windansea
Young woman in blue dress running through shallow waves at sunset
Teenager in teal dress posing on the beach near offshore rocks
Man with three adult women and younger woman standing on beach together
Family of six people standing together on the beach during sunset
Four family members running hand-in-hand through shallow water
Man in light blue striped shirt standing on beach at sunset
Young man in striped shirt wading through shallow water at Windansea
Man in blue striped shirt posing in shallow water with waves behind
Young man in striped shirt running through shallow water at sunset
Two young women in blue and cream dresses holding hands in shallow water
Two young women in dresses running together through the shallow surf
Two young women in blue and cream dresses wading and holding hands
Man embracing two adult women and a younger woman in shallow water
Family members running and splashing through the waves together
Man in light colored shirt and dark shorts posing on sand at sunset
Close-up of woman's face at Windansea during the golden hour
Two young women in teal and dark blue dresses wading together
Two teenagers in dresses walking hand-in-hand through shallow water
Eight family members standing together in shallow water at sunset
Eight family members running and splashing joyfully through the surf
Eight figures silhouetted holding hands against the sunset at Windansea
Teenage girl in cream-colored dress standing on sand at golden hour
Four young women in various colored dresses wading in shallow water
Two young boys playing and splashing in shallow water at sunset
Two teenage boys in colored shirts posing in shallow water together
Five young women in dresses standing together in shallow surf
Two young people with arms raised running through waves at dusk
Two young men standing close together in shallow water at sunset
Three young men standing together in shallow water during golden hour
Five young women in colorful dresses wading together through waves
Eight silhouetted figures holding hands against the twilight sky at beach
Eight people silhouetted jumping joyfully against the sunset sky

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