Family Portraits in the Smoky Mountains

I consider these mountains to be my personal studio.  It’s not that I think I own the mountains, or even this five acre spot we have temporary custody of, but that they were put here for all of us to enjoy.  Some of us are fortunate enough to live here and see the changes daily, but others can visit and take photographs home with them to put on the wall and be able to reflect on the time it was taken.  Fun times.

Each time we do a portrait session I wind up taking a little ride around or a hike to look for something new and different than what we’ve done before.  Different seasons and different times of day can make the same spot look totally different, and things we pass every day can one day just catch your attention and make you want to find a way to capture that image.

Dawn and Jeremy contacted me on Facebook to say they were coming to town and would love to do a photo session with their family, so I took my normal ride on Sunday afternoon and found some fun places to shoot.  Planning on a farm field with a barn in the background and a few other spots.  But just as they arrived it clouded up and started a light rain, so we had to change the plans a little bit.  We were able to beat the rain on some shots, and found some great canopies that would keep us relatively protected.  And we had a blast!

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First stop: the Photo Log! Just to make sure we could get some shots before the bottom fell out.

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We just happen to have access to a 1930s era handmade quilt. The patern is called Jacob's Tears. (thanks Rhonda. I'll clean it up..)

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I had some fun editing this shot.

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On my drive I found these funky old pipes. Thought it might be a good spot for a couple, but it turned out to be a dry place for most of the family.

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Finally we wound up at this beautiful mountain stream.

Pretty photogenic group, no?

I’ve often thought of having an indoor studio with all sorts of cool lighting, backdrops and reflectors.  But with all these gorgeous mountain settings around us, why would we want to stay inside?  even if it’s raining…