Shepherdstown, WV—I’m so fortunate to have wonderful friends who are willing to let me practice my photography skills. When I showed up a day early for my friend Tami’s session I was mortified. But Tami and John laughed and showed me around their house and the neighbor’s farm so I could scout the best lighting and locations.
I’ve been friends with Tami for almost a decade. We taught middle school together for many years. After working together at our school’s summer academy, I joined Tami for girls’ weekend at the beach with our colleague Alice. We’ve been going to the beach three times a year for 7 years (minus pandemic years). We were even at the beach when Maryland announced they were closing the state the following Monday. We are now back in full swing in 2023.
Tami and her husband John each have two beautiful children. They joined their families in 2013 and just celebrated their 10 year anniversary last May. I didn’t know them when they got married, but I listened closely to their experiences raising Tori, Quint, Madison, and Tyler because my son is several years behind them.
We did the photo session at their home in Shepherdstown, WV on Thanksgiving Sunday 2023. John’s family has owned Valley View Farm since 1972. Their house sits in the middle of a large field that is so beautiful…even in the late fall. John recently acquired his grandfather’s Farmall tractor and restored it. His picture with the tractor is one of my favorites from this shoot!
This is a great time for a family portrait session because their children are all in the process of getting set up for the next stage in their lives. I got shots of the core six family members and then we looped in the significant others throughout the shoot. We were also able to get some good shots with Tyler’s bloodhound, Clyde.
I’m not anywhere close to being a seasoned photographer yet, so doing any photo shoot is a little out of my comfort zone. When I showed up on Sunday to a living room full of people watching their favorite football team on TV, I was even more nervous. They gave up watching the game so I could practice photography! I felt the pressure to zip through this session so they could get back to the game. I also learned that their oldest daughter picked up photography in college and has photographed 2 weddings. She is also the one who normally does their family portraits. I was grateful for her help with the posing—she gave me some great ideas.
The entire family was sweet and supportive. John was such a goofball and it made the shoot fun for everyone. I quickly learned that the girls were pros at posing. One of the boys even joked that, “They do this every weekend.” Which is so true. These young ladies have grown up on social media and have more content than most of the people I know. They did the “sorority pose” and it was adorable. We tried to recreate it with the boys but they wouldn’t have it. Tami and I weren’t too successful either.
I’m thankful it was overcast because I planned 2 hours for their session and I was able to get it down to about an hour since the lighting wasn’t ideal. It was also chilly, and when I started their session I was bundled up, but by the time it was over I had removed my coat and was sweating. Nerves!
I learned so many things during this shoot. Like…I really need to send a text to the family either the night before or the morning of the session to confirm the date and time! Another thing I can do is avoid Sundays for families who love football, or at least avoid the game time of their favorite football team!
The biggest takeaway from the two family portrait sessions I had this day (I took some family portraits of my brother and his family earlier in the day) is to slow down and take my time because I rushed through both shoots. I could have been more purposeful in the locations and posing if I would have taken a breath and calmed down. Although I felt ridiculous showing up a day early at Tami’s, I can’t imagine how her pictures would have turned out if I didn’t have that time to scout, get some shots in advance, and process through the lighting and locations I wanted to use.
Lastly…the photographers I’ve met on my journey so far have been so helpful and willing to share their knowledge. Every day I feel more and more excited about finally moving forward with my love of photography, and I’m thankful that I have loads of family, friends, and fellow photographers to help me along the way.
Thank you Tami, John, Madison, Tyler, Tori, Quint, and Clyde!
