Golden hour. Golden grass. A beautiful summer evening.

That was what this family was hoping for when we met at one of my favorite places in Clark County, the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington, for their family photography session. And luckily, we got all three. The tall grass was glowing in the evening light, and the whole place had that warm, late summer feel.
We started with some traditional family portraits and then mixed in some more relaxed prompts and poses. I'm learning that sometimes the best thing I can do during a family session is give everyone something to do rather than asking them to simply stand there and smile at me. There was one little moment that made us all laugh. Mom and Dad have a pretty significant height difference, and when I asked Dad to give Mom a kiss, I didn't think through quite how far he was going to have to bend down to make it happen. Let's just say... it wasn't exactly the flattering romantic moment I had pictured in my head. 😂 We took one look at it, laughed, and decided that particular pose wasn't going to make the cut.
That's one of the fun things about photographing real families. Sometimes you try something, realize it isn't quite working, laugh about it, and move on to something else.
A Little Less Posing, A Little More Playing

Once we got everyone warmed up, we mixed in some games and movement to get the kids interacting instead of constantly worrying about whether they were looking at the camera. We played chase, did a little ring-around-the-rosie, and played the "look at whoever..." game.
Things like:
"Look at whoever takes the longest to get ready."
"Look at whoever is the funniest."
"Look at whoever gets in trouble the most."
It's a pretty simple way to get kids looking at each other, laughing, and interacting without me having to repeatedly say, "Okay, now smile at the camera." The older daughter was especially fun to photograph. She had such a great attitude throughout the session and seemed to genuinely enjoy being in front of the camera. She has a beautiful smile and made my job pretty easy.
Her older brother wasn't quite as excited about the photography portion of the evening. 😂
So, naturally, I resorted to my highly sophisticated photography technique of asking ridiculous questions until somebody laughs.
At one point, I asked the kids if they ever hear their parents fart. Or maybe I said "toot." I honestly can't remember. Either way, it worked. Mom was standing next to me making very clear "don't tell them!" hand signals, which made the whole thing even funnier.
And those are the moments I'm looking for. Not necessarily the biggest, most perfect smile, but the genuine ones that happen when everyone forgets about the camera for a second.
Golden Hour Family Photos at Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge

One of the things I really enjoy about outdoor family photography is that we don't have to spend the entire session standing in one spot. We can move around, explore, play a few games, try different poses, and take advantage of whatever the location and light are giving us.
And sometimes we try a pose that doesn't quite work. Sometimes the kids would rather play than sit still. Sometimes everyone is looking at the camera except the one person we're waiting for. That's family photography. It doesn't have to be perfectly posed from beginning to end to result in photographs you'll love. For this session, we got the beautiful golden grass and evening light Mom was hoping for, along with traditional family portraits, sibling photos, individual portraits, and plenty of playful moments in between.
I'm still learning and experimenting with different ways to direct families, and every session teaches me something new. But I think that's part of the fun. I'm not trying to make every family look the same.
I want to give you photographs that actually feel like your family—whether that means beautiful golden-hour portraits, kids running around playing chase, everyone laughing at a ridiculous question, or Mom and Dad discovering that one particular kissing pose probably wasn't going to work. 😉
If you're looking for a family photographer in Ridgefield, WA, or the surrounding Clark County area, I'd love to create a session that's relaxed, fun, and gives your family's personalities room to come through.
