San Jose, CA Family Photography

Lifestyle Photos in the Hills

From the moment I connected with this sweet family, I knew we’d hit it off immediately and have a fun photoshoot together. Not only were they wonderfully kind and welcoming, but this gorgeous mama also works in education! For those of you who don’t know, I’m a former teacher myself (as is my husband) with a huge heart for education and also taking care of our teachers who always work sooo incredibly hard behind the scenes! So I was very excited to get this beautiful family on my calendar. They have a precious, lively little boy and I could tell that this family shares a lot of love and laughter in their household. 

We wanted to document the three of them as a family while also remembering, including, and honoring their second son, who was born sleeping earlier this year. These beautiful parents commemorated his legacy and ongoing presence with them as represented by the blue pinwheels and the infinity symbol tattoos which they both share. These artistic elements represent his beautiful memory and I was honored to document their story. 

Last minute changes of plans

We scheduled their family photos during the Fall, often a popular time for yearly photos. God bless this flexible family! I always confirm the location with my families multiple times before the scheduled photoshoot, so we’re all on the same page about where to meet up. And bless their sweet souls, because I completely changed the plan about ten minutes before the photoshoot was supposed to start! We were planning to go to another spot nearby at a popular park. I arrived early, as I often do, just to look around the area. I noticed that the weather on this particular day happened to be cloudy, which I actually love because it softens the harsh California sunlight. When it’s bright & sunny out, I have to manage my light by a) shooting near shade, or b) shortening the length of the photoshoot until the sun has set a little more on the horizon. But when it’s cloudy, I have more freedom to shoot anywhere I want. So on the date of their photoshoot, I walked outside and realized it was cloudy…and promptly changed the photoshoot location. They called me to let me know they’d arrived at the spot, and I said, “great, change of plans, new location!”

I was soo appreciative that they were so easygoing and laidback and were willing to drive to a new nearby spot to meet up! I think the photos were really worth it fortunately! 

Wardrobe Advice

This family did a great job of coordinating a color palette without matching exactly. With dark colors like navy, it’s really important to dress another family member in a pop of lighter color to reflect some light and draw the viewer’s eye onto the subject of the photo. Dad’s cream colored shirt was the perfect balance to mom’s navy dress, and their little boy was perfectly adorable in his coordinating outfit.

Shooting Information

This session was photographed on a Canon 5D Mark IV with an 85mm and a 35mm. All photos were edited by hand in LR and PS.

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