mcfarland family

Jenn is one of the first ladies that I met here at Fort Irwin.  We quickly started talking about Fort Drum since we had both been there at one time or another and realized that we have a few friends in common.  Not only that but she has a 5 year old little girl who wanted someone to play with and Karina was more than happy to oblige.

As our girls became close Jenn found out that I was starting to get my photography business up and running.  She mentioned to me that she has wanted family photos done for some time now.   We left it at that and went about our days with the girls quickly becoming best friends.

About a month ago Jenn said that she wanted to have their session before the holidays so we sat down and discussed what she did and didn’t want from me.  It was pretty simple…No grass, we live in the High Desert of California so that was easy.  She also didn’t want tons of images to choose from because, not only is it overwhelming, but that’s how she ends up with too many pictures.  We went over the different packages and found the perfect one.  Unfortunately, it would still require some decision making on her part.

The day of the session was beautiful.  Kelly was a ready and willing assistant since now she would not be the one in front of the camera.  We arrived at Jenn’s ready to go to our previously scouted location only to find that Scott was reluctant and going under duress.  I wasn’t at all surprised since that seems to be the norm with the men.  I’m sure it didn’t help that he was the only guy with 4 females.  Love it!

We arrived at our location and quickly set up to get started.  I started with them sitting but that didn’t last long and I soon had them moving around and this is one of my favorites from that portion.

Erin was always quick to hug.

While I had them moving around for some variety I told Erin to just play and run around.  They were beyond cooperative and easy going when it came to my directions.  It doesn’t get much better.

As we were packing up and leaving I noticed that the moon had snuck up on us so we changed direction, Scott loaded Erin on to his shoulders and off we went.

  She loved that she was so “tall”.

Not sure how far he will go with this particular hug.

Jenn and I got a kick out of this one as only a mom would think that touching the knee would give enough protection should she start to fall.

I loved that we were out in the middle of nothing with no traffic to speak of so I had them walk in the middle of the road.  Not to worry, Scott made sure that Erin looked both ways before starting.

 Daddy’s girl.

I would say that this is the end of the session because we thought we were done but Erin looked at me with her beautiful blue eyes and asked, “Are we going to the stables now?  They belong to my daddy.”  There is some truth to that since the horse detachment does fall under Scott’s unit.  It seems that they couldn’t say no to that request either and we were off to the horses!

Erin was very cautious.

She quickly moved on to something new.

The sun was in the perfect position for a shot that I envisioned the first time I went out to the stables and we were able to get some great images.  This is just one of the many we took by the fence.

By this time Scott had given in and was always ready for the camera, even when no one else was.  The ones that fight it are the ones that usually end up loving it in the end.  It seems that Erin isn’t the only photogenic one in the family.

Love the out-takes.

Broke him down.

Beautiful lady.

Jenn asked if we could get a family photo with Tiefort in the background.  I am so glad she asked and I am extremely happy with the outcome.

What a wonderful way to end the day.

Thank you so much for asking me to photograph your family.  It was a great day and I’m so happy that you are pleased with the final images.  I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend the day than with the McFarland family.