Suttons, Meyers and Athertons, Oh My!

Family portrait day at the beach! This session was with a great family we've known for a while. My wife and I went to school with Chris and Kim and we've had the opportunity to meet lots of their family. This session was with Kim's side of the family. Fair warning: there's lots of images here. We had such fun and came away with so many great images, I couldn't decide which ones to leave out (I love having that problem!).

We started out with a standard family portrait while the kids were still fresh and willing participants.

A building storm made an excellent backdrop for group shots near the dunes.

Chris with his young son Caleb. I just love how the blue sky matches their shirts, and the warmth of the setting sun balances the cool blue.

Grandma and Grandpa try to wrangle the herd. Great job on the outfits, by the way.

Older sister Maddie and younger brother Quinn.

This is Kim's brother Brian and his wife Angie, along with their kids Logan, Brooks and Abry. Kim is from Iowa and Brian's family still lives up there. They are right near where all the tornadoes and flooding have been but I think they were spared any damage.

The super-cute Sutton family. We all met at Eckerd College, and then I worked with Chris for a while at Tampa Bay Watch.

Kim's sister Carrie and her husband Mike with kids Maddie and Quinn. Also very adorable. I don't care what anyone says Maddie, I think the "one tooth missing" look is totally cool.

Caleb "the wrecking ball" Sutton.

I could've spent all day just shooting Maddie. I got lots of great silhouettes of her playing down near the water.

Carrie and Maddie strike a pose in front of a trademark Fort De Soto sunset.

The proud grandparents George and Nancy.

Mike and Carrie steal a shot for themselves.

Maddie continues to ham it up for the camera. I think I made that poor girl cartwheel 6 times in a row to make sure I got the shot.

Quinn shows of his sandcastle building skills.

The Suttons again. I'm not sure exactly what Caleb is doing here, but I think it's funny.

Maddie tests the water.

Nancy points out the Egmont Key lighthouse to Abry.

Logan (I think?!) stands at the edge of the known world. He could just be thinking about what to eat for dinner, but when a kid looks out to sea, you can't help but imagine they're thinking some deep thoughts.

I just love this image. Maddie (and Logan and Brooks) were playing around jumping over waves as they came in. This shot of just Maddie pretty much sums up what it feels like to be a kid in a big world.

The kids were good sports and modeled for me a little longer. Note to self: when you tell kids to run by you, you have to also tell them to stop. I think they made it halfway to Georgia before I realized I had to tell them to stop!

I think we had a very productive portrait session. Not bad for a little over an hour! Everybody was fun and patient with me and the kids were awesome! Pretty impressive considering how many young 'uns there were.