Our family photos: by Ciara Richardson.

There are so many reasons why I love Ciara. Not just her photography (which is obviously amazing) but her persona. She does regular giveaways and offers her followers all kinds of incentives. She shares photography tips, camera info, posing advice, etc. She's always willing to help anyone who wants to learn photography or those who take an interest in what she does. Some photographers get secretive about their locations or their styles. Ciara is the opposite. She's soft spoken and just really sweet. I'd only met her once before at another photographer's workshop, but you'd think we were long lost friends. She's easy to talk to. Use her! Family photos, weddings, whatever. She will impress. 

Now, onto the photos! She took our family pictures a couple months ago. I'll be printing and hanging several asap. I liked working with her because she let us be us. A lot of the time she just asked us to interact. It was like a typical Tuesday night, except there was a gal there, with a camera, in the middle of a field. She had artistic visions, but didn't get caught up in them. She let us be involved. Instead of waiting for us to pull a serious face (not our style) she snapped shots of us laughing and being more candid. Instead of posing us, she told us to be comfortable. She was fantastic with Sammy, who at some points was a bit rambunctious.

Here are some of my favorites. See more from our session here!

 

Before the shoot, Ciara asked us to write love letters to one another, but to keep them secret till the shoot. At the very end, she had us open them up and silently read the other's note. We were laughing because both of our notes mentioned something about being a good parent to Sam.

Last but not least, perhaps my favorite in the bunch.