I love it when my client has a specific vision and idea for their session; part of my passion in photography is helping that vision come to life.

This extended family portrait was part of a very special weekend that was booked as a “Dad and Daughters” weekend at the absolutely majestic Air BnB, http://retreatatcoolspring.com/ out in Virginia’s wine country. The adult daughters were allowing their brothers to come over for dinner and family portrait session on the Saturday night of the weekend and they were expecting great things! Everything, from the dresses and the men’s jackets and khakis, to the croquet and champagne, were carefully styled for a family portrait session and I was so excited to help with the creation.

The direction given to me – which I LOVED – was “cocktail party, not stiffly posed…as if I was a fly on the wall of a wonderful party.”  And that’s just what it turned out to be (by the end of the night, I was asking if I could be adopted into this fun family).  All were great sports in the stifling heat of August in Virginia and I had a chance to explore a new beautiful setting, and try out my best “Vanity Fair” style of staging a group. They even pretended to do their “Dynasty” style pose, but then quickly relaxed into with their true fun and very unstuffy style.