I Love a Summer Day

 

Above, a little fun in the driveway. Keep reading because there’s a contest in this post! You could win a $15 iTunes gift card!

 

If you know Vanessa and Chris’s family, send them an e-mail to see their “day in the life” slide show. I love this family unportrait! One of my all-time favorites!

 

I have a feeling those boys are going to watch their slide show over and over!

 

Our first stop was the beach at Sea Bright. I’m so glad the beach wasn’t crowded yet!

 

The boys were having fun playing with their dad…

 

…and playing with my camera.

 

The next stop was a playground by the river.

 

Here, you can swing over the river and pretend you’re a seagull (or a pterodactyl) flying over the water for food.

 

Everybody loves those zipper things!

 

Notice anything strange about this picture? The first person to leave a comment correctly describing the strangeness will win a $15 iTunes gift card!

 

I always love pictures of kids playing with their parents. Here’s a little secret: kids LOVE pictures of their parents playing with them!

 

That’s a sweet mother/son moment.

 

Next stop after the playground: lunch.

 

Beautiful light in this restaurant for that beautiful smile!

 

It was cool how the light was bouncing off the table top, giving the boys’ faces and eyes a sparkly glow.

 

Next stop: the baseball field…

 

…but I like the hugging pictures best.

 

After that: home. Love this shot of all three boys!

Photo tip: we try to do the inside pictures when the sun is highest in the sky because we don’t want to be outside in the high noon light. Plus, by then, the children are perfectly comfortable with me and enjoy showing me their rooms and hobbies…

 

…and sometimes with mom’s permission, there’s a little bit of bed-jumping…

 

…and a little bit of “where’s Julie”?

 

Later: the backyard…

 

…and then the front porch, where we were setting up for a posed family picture on the steps. I adore this “waiting” shot. While we were waiting for the rest of the family to come outside, he was my test model so I could get my camera set. Thanks, buddy! You were GREAT!

 

Ahhh, the posed shot is in their full gallery, but *I* like this one!

A little aside: I started to wonder the other day: why do I like family unportraits, the unposed, nutty, laughing, fun family shot so much better than the everybody-look-at-the-camera-and-say-cheese shot?

Then I was reading the book, “The Choice,” by Nicholas Sparks. The main character, Travis, is looking at a family photograph (khakis and white shirts with everybody sitting in the dune grass) hanging on the wall in his house. Sparks writes: “It was the kind of family portrait common in Beaufort, yet it somehow struck him as entirely unique. Not because it was his family, but because he was certain that even a stranger would find himself filled with hope and optimism at the sight, for the people in the photo looked the way a happy family should.”

See, I disagree. Because when was the last time you saw a family sitting together in dune grass in matchy matchy clothes? It’s weird!

I would much rather have a photograph on the wall of my family doing something we might normally do. Would we normally hang out on the front porch and have a tickle fight? You bet! It’s one of my favorite things! It’s THAT photograph, the one with everybody touching and tickling and laughing, that makes me feel optimistic.

 

As I was going through the pictures with my own family following along watching over my shoulder, my boys and Mike all liked this family shot the best. To us, THIS picture would fill even a person who didn’t know that family with hope and optimism. I LOVE it!

 

I love this one too because even though he’s making a pouty face for me, you can see from the sparkle in his eyes that he’s goofing around!

 

That’s a peek-a-boo shot. I was crouching behind the couch. Not an easy task when you’ve got two 8-lb. cameras and a lens bag strapped to your side. But I LOVE it when the kids play with me!

 

Chris deserves the Father of the Year award! He’s been jogging with those kids in that triple stroller since they were babies! (All the while giving Vanessa a bit of a break.) I’m betting that jogging stroller alone weighs 20 lbs. Now add the weight of a 6-year-old and two 4-year-olds. That thing’s got to be heavy! Vanessa specifically asked me to try to get a shot of Chris pushing that stroller. “By next year,” she said, “that part of our lives may be over.”

I’m thinking by next WEEK! Yowsa! I love how great the picture came out! Yay! Chris, you are awesome!

I hope you guys love your slide show as much as I do!

Until next time,
Hugs,
–jules