Cartwright & Kids

So I recently did a family session for a girl I went to high school with, Kriss Cartwright, now Cruz. It was a birthday gift to her father, Mike. I had a lot of fun as this was no ordinary family shoot; there were actually a total of 13 people!

We shot at Nashville's Centennial Park -- a photographer's ideal location because there are so many options there -- the Parthenon, the gardens, the duck pond, historic monuments, etc.

I think the greatest thing to come out of this session was the candidness in almost every photo. I mean ... do you know how hard it is to get 13 people on the same page? LOL! It was a challenge to say the least, but it was a good time had by all. This family truly loves each other and loves spending time together; it comes across in every photo. And I would have to say that they owe it all to mom and dad, who after 35 years of marriage are still as captivated with each other as the day they met. These two are best friends, it's plain to see. Mike and Laurel really didn't need some silly, amateur photographer trying to make that apparent for them. They oozed faithfulness. =)






The session was so wonderful because there was no lack of the brother-sister element from Kriss and her siblings, and the grandchildren were very affectionate toward their grandparents and each other. Kriss' son also brought these wonderful umbrellas that I was told he picked up on a trip to Mexico. They added such color and dimension to the outcome.

And talk about candid ... there was what had to have been an 80-pound 1-year-old that kept walking in and out of our garden shots! The worst part about it was that mom didn't seem to think it problem-some enough to come grab him, but the best part about it was the chuckles it kept getting from my subjects. Funnier still was the way this kid walked. He had a gate like John Wayne coming off a three-day cattle drive! =)

I also brought my old vintage chair for a prop, which by the end of our session was stolen by a wedding photographer! He gave it back once the couple moved beyond the garden.

All in all, this was an awesome shoot that gave me a great learning experience. And though I'm not completely pleased with all the photos -- I took over 400 -- I couldn't have been happier with the "Cartwright Kids." I would gladly do it all again!