Fall Family Photos
This year, one of my goals was to get more photos. I know you’re probably thinking – but you take so many! And to be sure, I do. I have tons of photos of me, but I don’t have that many with Jon or our families. The last professional family photos I had with my parents was at my 8th grade graduation, and Jon’s last professional family photos were when he was in high school! It had been too long for both of us.
I’ve shared some of these photos already on Instagram or with friends in person, and I always get the comment: They look like wedding photos! It’s hard not to make family photos look like wedding photos, but does that truly matter? Jon and I have been together for a long time: we have a house together, and a cat, our families know each other, and we do holidays together. We are already a family even though Jon and I aren’t married. I want photos all the time, not just on a special occasion. There’s nothing more special than having photos to hang on your wall and to capture fond memories and points in time when you were all able to come together.
If you’re on the fence about getting photos taken whether it’s the expense or what others may think, just go for it! I am truly so happy with the photos that I am already thinking about our next photoshoot. Not only did we capture some great group shots, we were also able to get couple shots, parents with kids, and many more combinations! We received about 40 photos in total, so I’ve only shared a selection here.
The hardest part of the whole thing was coordination! Picking a date and time was easy in comparison to picking out a color scheme and outfits for all of us. (For those of you with larger families, kudos to you!). Originally I wanted to go with an emerald green and brown/khaki color scheme but that didn’t work out as not everyone had something in that spectrum. Eventually we settled on a teal and purple jewel-tone color scheme, which I think turned out wonderfully. Not too bad for our first styled shoot!
Luckily, choosing the location was one of the easiest parts! We knew we wanted to do the shoot in Snohomish, and had 3 locations in mind. We quickly settled on Centennial Trail at a place where the leaves looked amazing! We shot these in November, so it was just as the leaves were changing colors and falling. It was the perfect backdrop. By keeping the photoshoot in Snohomish, it was symbolic of everyone coming together for this shoot for us, as our house is smack dab in the middle of our parents houses. The trail too was special as Jon, my dad, and I regularly cycle this trail, and growing up Jon and I had ridden this trail a few times. So many past memories and so many more new ones made!
The best part, besides the photos that we get to keep forever, was that made this an event with our families, spending the day together. After the shoot, we went back to our house where we showed pictures of our vacation to England and Scotland and gave them their souvenirs. My mom, Jon’s mom, and I went to barre (it was their first class!), while Jon’s dad, my dad, and Jon hung out at the house (unfortunately his sister had to work). After the class, we all went out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants. It was a really great time and I think they’d all be willing to do it again with me!
