After Chloe was born, I started thinking about possibly planning a “Three Generations” type of photoshoot with my mom. Just like most moms, she was rarely in our family photos growing up because she was always the one taking pictures of us! I don’t think my mom has been in professionally captured family photos since my younger brother and I were practically babies. Photos mean the world to her (I wonder where I get it from… 😜) and so do her granddaughters, so a photoshoot including all three generations felt like a slam dunk of an idea. We had such a great time that I wanted to share about our experience in case you’re looking for a family photographer in Tampa!
I was introduced to Brittany Elise Photography a few years ago via my bestie who was planning to work with Brittany for some family photos and I immediately noticed that Brittany’s light & airy style really complemented the look that I love from our local family photographer. Because of this, I made a mental note that maybe we could work with her in the future if we ever wanted to do a photoshoot while we were in Florida.
As luck would have it, my mom’s family made plans to have a reunion this summer, which would be held near Tampa, so I seized the opportunity and booked a session with Brittany Elise Photography while we would be in town!
Planning our session with Brittany was so great. We had an initial call so that she could get to know me, our family, what kind of session we were hoping to have, to choose a photoshoot date, and so that she could share a bit about herself and what services she offers.
My mind was blown when she told me about one service in particular where her team can create & install a gallery wall for their clients, even with photos that she didn’t take / with physical photos that don’t have negatives or digital copies — what a truly incredible offering! It honestly sounds like magic to me.
One other incredible offering is Brittany’s client closet — oh. my. goodness. Total gamechanger, especially for someone traveling, but even if you’re local! It’s one less thing to have to plan for, buy, steam/iron ahead of the shoot, not to mention not having to launder everything after the shoot. I think taking advantage of the client closet is worth it just for that fact alone!
Brittany has such a lovely assortment of clothing for literally every person, every age, a wide range of body types, and in such beautiful colors, fabrics and prints. It was sooo nice to take this whole aspect of the session off of my plate when packing our luggage.
Monica (@modernglambymonica) handles hair and makeup for Brittany’s clients and she couldn’t have been more skilled or sweet. My mom chose to style her own hair, but we both got our makeup done and it was a fantastic experience! Monica did such a beautiful job for both of our skin types (she even managed to disguise my out-of-control rosacea) and I loved the way she styled my hair. My mom and I had a wonderful time getting “dolled up” together — she had never had her makeup professionally done before this experience, and I’m pretty sure she loved it!
I was really hoping that Brittany would be available for a sunset shoot in a beach setting because I wanted the photos to feel quintessentially “Florida”. The Sunshine State is where I was born, grew up, and where my family heritage is, so it felt like the right type of location to have our photoshoot. I’m so grateful that Brittany was open to doing a beach session with us for this special circumstance — she totally nailed the aesthetic that I was hoping for.
Our beach session had a couple of challenges: (1) we were at a public park / beach so there were other beachgoers for Brittany to have to edit out 😅, (2) there was a pretty big threat of rain that evening; thankfully the dark clouds stayed away from our location, but they could have easily rained us out if the wind had blown a different direction, (3) Sophie just wanted to hunt for seashells so it took a lot of coaxing to get her to look at the camera, and (4) Chloe was just unhappy with everything — new people, new smells, new sounds, new textures, and I’m pretty sure she was starting to get both tired and hungry… by the end of the shoot she was OVER. IT. I’m only sharing these elements because it makes it even more of a miracle for Brittany to have captured the beautiful photos that she did! She was so sweet and patient, she did an excellent job giving us posing prompts and fixing our hair when we needed it after the sea breeze swirled it all around, and she even pulled out some surprise props for the girls to hold toward the end of the shoot when we were losing their attention. 😆
We had such a fabulous time with Brittany and I hope that we can plan another family session with her in the future… maybe including my husband next time! 😉 We absolutely adore the final images — my mom was so moved by them that she even cried (multiple times) when we met with Brittany to make our framing and album selections! I can’t think of higher praise.
…
Without further ado, these are some of my favorite images that Brittany captured of us girls:
I absolutely can’t wait to see the album and framed photo that my mom chose from the images that Brittany captured… I know they will be well worth the wait (and I’ll update here once we receive them)!
It’s so special to have these photos that I know we’ll all cherish for our lifetimes. Thank you again, Brittany, for capturing our family!
Sending hugs —
xx, Natalie
Leave a comment...