The Altman Family

It had been years since this family had their portraits done... but you wouldn't ever guess that after looking at these photos. And even though they may have been a little nervous at the beginning of the shoot, their silly and goofy interactions seemed to put them all at ease.. and they just started being themselves. Which is why this shoot was an incredible success.
I am very happy to introduce you to the Altman Family.

I think momma Cindy did such a great job of picking out what everyone was going to wear. And then of course I have to give it up to God for providing such a gorgeous backdrop.
Did I mention the goofing off?

And speaking of gorgeous.. check these kids out. I mean.. for reals? And they all have personality for days!

So at this point.. it started to drizzle. And in my head I gave myself a huge high-five for thinking ahead and bringing along every single umbrella I could get my hands on. And even better.. for having forced my younger brother (who was home from college) to go with me on this shoot as my assistant. Because right then.. just like a pro.. I asked my lovely assistant to run to the car and bring the umbrellas to save this good looking family from frizzy, wet hair.
And wouldn't you know.. this adorably awesome family played along and proudly modeled the umbrellas perfectly. No questions. Or complaints. Just smiles.. and fun and LOVE.

I have to mention that at this point I was starting to get a little jittery because although I had thought ahead about providing coverage for the family.. I hadn't thought about protecting my CAMERA from the rain. So I promptly took off my hoody and wrapped it around the expensive electronic device as best as I could.. and bravely managed to snap away. (And for those of you who shoot in Manual mode.. you can appreciate how difficult that was with a sweater wrapped around my camera.) But I am so happy I did.. because these are some of my favs!

We then made our way back to the parking lot, and I was happy to discover a little bench outside the covered rest area. We got the sweetest shots.. all the while I had my fingers crossed that the rain would let up just a bit before calling it a wrap.

I'm happy to report that the rain did let up. We were able to throw a blanket down and get some really awesome pics of each of the kids with their parents and then a few more of the family altogether. And instead of showing you those individual pics of each kid with their parents.. I'm going to show you a couple of candids of them goofing off. Because I can. :) Followed by another one of my favs from this shoot.

Dear Altmans.. you guys have to know that you hold an incredibly special place in my heart. I hope that you take advantage of that and have me take photos of you guys as often possible. And despite your horrible taste in NFL teams.. all of you are so very awesome and I'm lucky to have met you! xo