Perhaps one of the most fun shoots I enjoyed this year was hanging out with Jessica and her little brood in downtown Los Angeles.
Being around her kids, and her super chill and playful husband, Cody, was certainly an end-year holiday highlight for me. Their energy level combined with their vibe really made capturing special moments easy and natural.
We started at Hauser & Wirth – but had to leave due to a no-photo shoot policy I didn’t know about, walked around for bit then ended up at California Plaza.
The kids enjoyed being in an environment that was familiar, and at the parents’ savvy prompting, engaged and played with each other and with us without any falsity or fuss. What resulted were some of the best portraits I’ve taken of young ones and their parents.
I did try for some traditional family poses but they ended goofing up in the best way possible. As I’ve written before, trying to pose children is really an exercise in futility. We played around, got a little silly and created more natural interactions that truly reflected their family’s personality.
Jessica definitely embraced my wanting a more candid, often humorous approach to photographing kids and family dynamics. She agreed that messy and chaotic is sometimes the most beautiful reflection of family life.
We love the photos this created. Here are just a few.
