Usually when I discuss the ideas and concepts with a family, my talks are with the mother. However, this shoot I spoke with the father. He was very specific with some of his ideas. He wanted individual shots of the children, and he wanted a series done so he could make portrait oriented canvases of each child displayed on the wall that looked like it was part of one print. Because he had a teenage daughter and two younger children I couldn't just put them together and then crop the photos into three portraits. If I did that the teenage daughter would fill the frame, but the other two children would be very small in comparison. My imperfect solution was to photograph each child separately, compose each shot, and try to match the background as best I could. This allowed more room for cropping to fit the canvas and also gave us more leeway for larger size prints.

At the end of the session we were treated to a great sunset. It was one of those sunsets the clouds were like a roof over our heads and we had a clear horizon. When that happens the sun lights up the underneath of the clouds and creates beautiful colors. After we accomplished the list of photographs the family wanted, we took advantage of the beautiful sunset and improvised a scene from the "Lion King".

Family Portrait at the Beach ClubA family portrait session taken at the Beach Club in Gulf Shores, Alabama Child Portrait Beach ClubA family portrait session taken at the Beach Club in Gulf Shores, Alabama Beach Portrait ChildA family portrait session taken at the Beach Club in Gulf Shores, Alabama Beach Club Family PortraitA family portrait session taken at the Beach Club in Gulf Shores, Alabama Beach Club Family PortraitA family portrait session taken at the Beach Club in Gulf Shores, Alabama Family PortraitA family portrait session taken at the Beach Club in Gulf Shores, Alabama Beach Club Family PortraitA family portrait session taken at the Beach Club in Gulf Shores, Alabama Beach Club Family PortraitA family portrait session taken at the Beach Club in Gulf Shores, Alabama Beach Club Family PortraitA family portrait session taken at the Beach Club in Gulf Shores, Alabama Beach Club Family PortraitA family portrait session taken at the Beach Club in Gulf Shores, Alabama After Sunset Family PortraitA family portrait session taken at the Beach Club in Gulf Shores, Alabama