Before I work with a family for the first time, we always speak on the phone, so I can get a sense of the who the family is and what their dynamic together will be like. My goal heading into every family session is to really capture the spirit of who they are together. While I consider myself to be pretty good at capturing the moments and the light, so much of being able to capture the spirit of a family depends on the parents. When I spoke with Jackie on the phone, she was nervous that her boys would be a bit too rambunctious. She cautioned me that they have big personalities, and lots of energy. My response to her was an enthusiastic “YES! AWESOME!” as well as the advice to not force anything and let the boys themselves so we could capture their awesome energy. I cannot thank Jackie and Kevin enough for letting go of any worries or any expectations for this session, for knowing their boys and just going with it, and for throwing caution to the wind, getting themselves, and allowing the boys to get dirty and wet in the sand and water, and for being 100% present and relaxed – fully allowing me to capture the awesome spirit of their crew. Their boys – 8-year-old Thomas, 5-year-old Matthew, and 1-year-old Benjamin had the time of their lives running in the waves, playing in the sand, chasing mom and dad, and getting completely soaked during our session that fully embraced the beautiful chaos of life with three boys. On top of it all, all of them were so sweet and kind, excellent listeners, and just really really fun to hang out with on the beach for an hour. This session was everything I love family sessions to be, and I can say with confidence that together we were able to embrace and capture the true spirit of this beautiful family. Here are my many favorites from our evening at Footbridge Beach in Ogunquit.