Title: A Mother's Touch
Taken: October 8th, 2016 in Narragansett, Rhode Island
Shot with: Nikon D-750 camera body,
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom lens.
Shot at: 58 mm, 1/640 sec at f /4.5, ISO 640
Family photos are not my strongest suit.
As a candid photographer, one of the absolute toughest parts of any wedding for me is the time in between the wedding ceremony and the reception as most of what you see is posed and set-up and not genuinely in the moment.
As much as I wish I could say these photos aren't necessary or talk my clients out of taking them, the honest truth is these are THE most important photos of any wedding day as these are the first photos a couple will look at and cherish the most ... largely because the people photographed with them are those closest to them.
It doesn't make it any easier to wade through the session but, sometimes, every once in a while, I'll stumble across a real life candid moment in between the long formal photo list that makes it all worth it.
Such was the case during my longtime friend Forrester's wedding back in October. Forrester and Lisajean were married on a cloudy but otherwise perfect fall afternoon and, by far, one of the things I loved the most about the day was how organized and quick the formal photo session went.
That is, until it came time for Forrester's portraits with his mother.
I've always known Forrester is a family-first kind of guy but seeing that play out in real life with the little moments between him and his mother and later between him and his father was incredibly heartwarming.
One of the favorite photos of the day, in fact, is the shot above between Forrester and his mother. I asked them to pose next to each other and watched as they naturally fell into this pose where you can see how much each one means to the other.
It is a photo that, to me anyway, defines their relationship perfectly but also defines the moment perfectly. There is a son, on the happiest day in his life, looking at the woman who raised him and feeling incredibly thankful for all she did. And there's a mother who has never been more proud of the boy who turned into the man who was just married to the love of his life.
THESE are the family portraits I cherish. THESE are the photos, that to me, make it all worth it.