This family session was so exciting to me. So many different things that happened during this session made it so memorable. I met Augustina through a fellow photographer friend who was originally scheduled to shoot their family session but was unable to make it. She asked for someone to step in so I volunteered. I chatted with Agustina via email. I hadn't met her in person yet but she was already so sweet over email, I was excited to meet her and the family.

Their location for the family session was Los Rios Historic district in San Juan Capistrano. One of the things I love about my photography business is going to new locations and being exposed to the little treasures of a city has to offer. I usually bring the family along because we all get to explore new places. We can be tourist in our own back yards which is the best!

The day was warm and sunny filled with butterflies all around. This session started out really eventful as my family and I started to scout the area. I tend to look for potential shooting spots and as we wandered, I could hear a buzzing noise. The noise was so close to my head I kept looking around for a fly or bee. Little did I know I had a bee trapped in my hair!!! I didn't want to kill it because I'm a believer in #savethebees but I'm terrified of getting stung. I kept jumping around like a crazy woman asking my husband to get it out. After a few minutes of panic, the bee finally came tumbling out! No sting, praise Jesus! Part of the historic area are local, small quaint businesses but most of it is residential neighborhoods. The streets were filled with people exploring the streets and the streets were filled with trees all around and there has to be a farm near by because we could definitely get a good whiff of the animals near by, if you know what I mean. That is definitely on our list to explore next time we are down there.

I met Agustina, her husband Shaun and daughter Sophia. We started walking throughout the streets of the historic district, admiring the Butterly sanctuary and local artwork. One thing I try to do is to get to know the client. I try to get on a more personal level with them, allowing them to be more at ease and comfortable with the idea that a total stranger will be taking their pictures. Throughout the whole session, the entire family was so sweet. They all were open to the direction and suggestions I had for them.

One thing Agustina mentioned was that they have never had family pictures taken before! This made it so much more special because I was capturing a time in their lives they will remember.

Once she mentioned that, I wanted to make sure I got some even more memorable shots. In some of the poses, I asked for Sophia to hold her moms hand and at one point I asked Sophia to give her mom a kiss on the cheek. To me those were some tender moments that I knew would be special because no matter how old ones child gets, you will always be mom. Sophia was so willing to show mom a little love that Agustina’s face lit up with a huge smile which made this session just that much sweeter! Mother- daughter shots were a must! I also wanted to capture some special moments between Agustina and Shaun as well. They are such a cute couple, I needed to make sure they saw that as well. Once I had delivered the gallery to Agustina, her email filled me with joy as she thanked me for taking their pictures, mentioned how much they all loved them and how happy she was that it had been me that captured them. That just made my heart smile!