Alex and Kyle are expecting their first baby next month and I photographed them at Dorothy B. Oven Park. That park has been one of my favorites lately. I keep finding new little spots and nooks that I either hadn’t noticed before, or the groundskeepers are sneaky and keep adding. Either way, it’s been my go-to location this spring and I’m really loving it. As for these two, parents-to-be, they were awesome and I have no doubt they will be amazing parents when their little girl arrives. Congratulations, Kyle and Alex! You have so much joy ahead of you!
I have four kids of my own.
I am not saying that to suggest I have parenting figured out. I am saying it because when you show up to your session worried that your toddler is going to lose it, or that your big kid is going to refuse to cooperate, or that everyone is going to look stiff and weird - I genuinely understand that concern.
I have lived it. More than once.
What I have also learned is that working with families as they actually are, instead of as we wish they would be on picture day, is exactly how you get photos that feel real. The beautiful chaos is part of it. I have a lot of tricks, and I genuinely enjoy the process.
You do not need a perfect family to get beautiful photos. You just need a photographer who knows what she is doing.
I photographed the same extended family twice.
The first time, it rained. They were troopers about it. We had already scoped out a covered porch at the location just in case the weather had other ideas, and that porch became our backdrop. We made something beautiful out of what could have been a wash.
The second time, they came back with new additions. Beach house on Alligator Point. Grandparents out on the water with the grandchildren. Big group moments and smaller family units. Easy, relaxed, and real.
What I remember most about both sessions is the feeling at the end. A kind of collective exhale. Like everyone knew they had just done something that mattered and would keep mattering long after that day.
That is the thing about showing up even when the conditions are not perfect. The photos do not know it rained.
Read more about Extended family/Multigenerational family photos in this month`s blog post. Link in bio.
If you have been sitting on this and are not quite sure yet, I want to make it simple.
This is a short session. It is designed to be low-pressure, low-chaos (or at least managed chaos), and genuinely doable for real families with real kids.
You do not need to have it all together. You do not need perfectly behaved children or a color-coordinated wardrobe already sorted. I will send you a guide. I will handle the rest.
It is five to seven minutes. We will get photos you actually love. I mean that.
Details and booking are at the link in bio.
Five Spots. One Date. A setting that only looks like this for about three weeks out of the year.
I am not trying to manufacture urgency here. The blooms genuinely do not wait, and the calendar genuinely does not have room for everyone who wants a session this spring.
If your family has been on your to-do list for a while, now is a really good time to actually do something about it.
April 11 at Maclay Gardens. $275. A wardrobe guide, a focused session, and your images delivered in two weeks.
Link to book in bio.
After you see your gallery, you might want more than three images.
That is a completely normal thing to feel, and I want you to know the option exists before you are standing there wishing you had decided sooner.
If you add the full gallery upgrade (5-10 images) before your session date, you save $100. If you wait until after you have seen everything and fall in love with half the gallery, the option is still there - just at a higher price.
No pressure in either direction. I just think it is worth knowing before April 11 arrives, not after.
All the details are at the link in bio. Only a few spots remain.
Memberships and Affiliations
Sarah Gray creates timeless and joyful images that are designed for living room walls and photo albums. A tallahassee photographer, Sarah Gray also serves Thomasville, Crawfordville, St. Marks, Gainesville and throughout the panhandle of north Florida and south Georgia.
email us | sarah@sarahgray.com
telephone (850) 321-0208
located in tallahassee, florida
