One of my favorite family photo locations in Phoenix is Scorpion Gulch, the remains of a trading post built in 1936 at South Mountain Park. The historic structure is made of stone and is set against a rolling mountainside. No ceilings remain, just walls and window and door frames. It provided the perfect backdrop for the family photos I recently did for Bonnie and her family.

I photographed Bonnie, her husband Patrick, and their three kids at this time last year. One of the things I love is that the kids aren't toddlers or little ones with missing front teeth. They're bona fide teens and tweens. And the great thing is that they've changed so much in just one year.

Jake still strikes his "thinker" pose, but now his golden locks are several inches longer. Samantha is now in high school and has a new hair style. And 6th grade Danny is getting so tall.

I love that they want photographs of these years. So often as the kids get older, we get busy and don't take the extra effort to coordinate everyone's schedule, we have teens who don't want their pictures taken, or we simply think it's something we just do when the kids are little. But these years are filled with tremendous change, so much personality, and so many emotions. It's a great time to capture all of that.

I hope they choose their favorite family image and get a huge canvas to hang in their family room. Every time they look at it they'll think back to the photo session where Jake, in typical fashion, tried relentlessly to make his siblings laugh, Samantha had just gone to her first homecoming dance the night before, and they were just glad the Sunday photo session didn't interfere with their favorite team's football game (or did it?).

Save

Save