Perfectly Imperfect - Angie & Jd
Angie was eager for family candids - portraits of family fun in their home and their back yard - candids seem much less intimidating than trying to conjure a real smile while hold-hold-holding a pose -
Kitchen moments & mountain biking & basketball & swing sets were our starting point - Then we worked it from there :) And we love the results !
I love looking at Angie & Jd as this couple who are a solid family of two - and were also blessed by the Lord to have ALL these interesting kids :) They have had enough experience at this point that they each "parent" (verb) purposefully, recognize mistakes, recover, and build each other up with laughs & full hearts.
IS THEIR FAMILY JUST SO PERFECT (laugh laugh)?? NO, they are PERFECTLY IMPERFECT. A "big hot mess" (Angie's words) and they aren't trying to fool anyone!
Plenty of grumpies, frustrations, angst & struggles mix with appreciation and love and a whole lot of laughs in this family - and the portraits they purchased SHOW their silly and imperfect sides as well as some really fun Pinterest moments (because we love those)! I love all these!
Angie & Jd, married 18 years:
We started at 6AM! Yep! Way to go, family!
Lenny McQueen from Quatro Salon Collective in Seattle was sincerely cheerful and enjoyed being with us, at 6am, even though he says he is NOT a morning person. And Lenny created smiles in the mirror with his results - Lenny was on hair for all 3 kids, and Ang:
Angie & Jd have remodeled their home, and it was fun to start with breakfast in their "new" space. Home-baked yummies and strawberries for breakfast in pajamas. Alicia checks the muffins:
And the coffee was brewing :) Jd taught Wes how to make his Mom's coffee. Then the kids piled on top of Angie in her favorite chair, a bright & sunny orange & white design. Behind them is the fireplace Jd built out of re-purposed wood:
Yep, "perfectly imperfect" written on their T-shirts ;) And it's fun that Jd chose the photo above especially due to their teen son's expression (do you just FEEL his emotions here?) instead of nearly identical photos with his big smile! And I even more love that Angie chose the photo below. Oh my goodness. Anyone understand ALL the common emotions being felt HERE? Thank you, Angie & Alicia for a universal mother-tween-daughter-for-real-portrait!
Let's go outside. And race. Yeah Wes! Go Blaze! Check out that pup!:
Although a major hope for these photos was to capture the kiddos at these stages of life, I personally wanted to get Jd & Angie on "film" too, that is so important to me, because time flies - and at this time in their lives, this is what Angie & Jd look like...
...in the hammock swing that Jd made from these crazy curving branches of a tree in their front yard. The kids were either playing with Blaze (Jack) or jumping high on the trampoline (Wes & Alicia) while this was taken - a still moment amidst lots of activity!!
There's not much I like better than tulle dresses with Converse sneakers - and add a skateboard? Yeah, this is an ideal subject for me! Sometimes portraits can tell more of a complete story if we portray people doing things they wouldn't normally do... so to me, this is a girl who enjoys feeling pretty - as well as a little sports tomboy who does things her own way... love!
Oh, and Alicia looks like she'd go goofy on a snowboard :) That may be in her snow future.
Ooooh, we love this mother-daughter image as well:
This family has a mountain bike course around the edge of their back yard. And they were all riding it, wheel to wheel :) For Jack, mountain biking is especially a favorite activity. He also really enjoys trimming mushrooms in the lawn with his golf swing - oh yeah, he just did that for photos ;) but he loves golf too!
This portrait was taken after Jack had taken a few quick loops on his bike. Behind him is the big built-up reclaimed-wood berm that adds fun to that corner.
The mountain bike loop circles a building and the basketball court - yep - basketball court :) The asphalt court also serves as the biggest chalk board ever!
For old-times-sake, all the kids loaded up on the swingset! Too fun, and I appreciate Jd making ladders secure for the above & below shots!
Jo James is my good friend and oftentime assistant for photoshoots, she does A LOT to help me, at this particular moment (above), her extremely valuable job was holding the ladder steady!! Thank you!! Jo also takes a lot of the video clips you see from various photoshoots :) And she's my extra eyes and hands and voice when we are arranging people: Our family consented to one "posed" family portrait - ONLY IF it was straight-face. (I love it!):
Wes did not feel like sharing his Mama!
Had to catch that cutie up close:
In the past, Angie may have written this phrase on her hand... now it's permanent. "Still I rise..." is Angie's reminder of who she is, where she came from, and the confidence that her spirit can rise above any negative situation put in her life. Angie today:
And HOW MUCH DO I LOVE that Jd chose THIS photo (below) of Angie, as one he just had to have. He says she is so pretty (and I agree!) even when she gives him the look: No wonder he teases her so much ;)
Yep, Angie, I showed it. I love it!
At about this point, I asked 14-year-old Jack to do me a favor. Jack, please pose your Dad & yourself for a portrait of the two of you. Jack grabbed Jd's arm and drew it around his shoulder. Angie and I so love the resulting portrait:
How am I so blessed that I get to hang out with people and make portraits as my "work"? I so enjoy my work, thank you, Lord! And a huge thanks to all of my clients! Yay, Angie & Jd! I had so much fun!!
