O'Connell Family Portrait

re·la·tion·ship (n)
the connection between two or more people or groups and their involvement with each other, especially as regards how they behave and feel toward each other and communicate or cooperate.often i am asked what makes our photography any different from the rest. my response is more than likely revolves around the "relationship" that i have built with our clients. to earn the trust of others and uphold this is very, very special to me.
the o'connell family are personal friends of ours that reached out to us because "taking a family portrait was not one of their favorite things to do." enter, karen and me. after taking in the breath taking views of their property i immediately saw an "old hollywood" feel to their portrait and wanted to celebrate the beauty in the eye of the storm...two fun, energetic and vicarious boys, and a strong, quiet and very, very talented sound re-recording mixer. the idea of having heather wear her "oscar" gown was an unanimous choice and the most perfect choice for her portrait. during our portrait shoot i often learn more of the stories that make up the individual(s) in front of the lens that ultimately help color our portraits. like, finding out that kevin's boyhood love is riding his mini bike and all the photos he recalls riding. this prompted me to invite him to ride the mini with his boys to "hand down the tradition."




wanting to celebrate the "beauty" I asked heather to stand and "look pretty." this put her in a spot light that she wasn't comfortable with but drew out a sincere, child-like innocence that was pure beauty unscripted. sometimes just by paying attention to minor details, like ones shyness, makes a world of difference on film.it is inevitable at times but i find myself firing off the shutter button fast and furiously just to keep up with the moment. hence the b/w collage of the o'connell's pillow fight. the final image is a direct result of the organic process of letting the portrait be captured through uninterrupted movement.
thank you to the o'connell family for giving of themselves to, again, help color our photography to what it is today.