A Spring Family Photo Session in Western North Carolina

Well spring sure sprung on us during this family session on April 4th, the Saturday before Easter. I drove out to Barnardsville, a beautiful country town outside of Asheville, North Carolina for a family photo session, and as I drove North the clear blue sky started to darken with clouds. Every photographer in Appalachia knows the sinking feeling of watching a sunny, ideal day turn to rain in what feels like just a few moments. While I always bring a flash with me and truly enjoy the look of a diffused flash image inside, I generally always prefer natural light.

I’ve shot this family a few times over the years and it’s always a treat- in part because of their big, sunny farmhouse filled with floor to ceiling, western facing windows. I was really looking forward to an easy breezy, light filled family session. And we got exactly that! For….I don’t know….half an hour? Before the sky blackened and the light evaporated. And all my dreams of rim light, sunset, shadows and interesting highlights evaporated with them.

This photo of a family outside of Asheville, North Carolina is a great example of why I never ask your kids to smile.

What I did next I might not recommend to any photographers. I’m a big proponent of making it work no matter what, adjusting, getting creative and utilizing whatever light is available…either leaning into the flat low-light conditions (which can be extremely moody and evocative) cranking that ISO and depending upon a strobe or flash. You stick it out, do your best, and remember that regardless of how hard you concentrate, you cannot alter the weather with your mind. However…

…Because I had been there before, I KNEW what type of photos I could make if and when the light returned. It’s my kids spring break this week, and because my husband is a middle school teacher, he’ll be home with us as well. Which means it would be very simple to return on a sunnier evening.

A mom and daughter paint their faces during an in-home photo session

A dad and daughter gaze out the window during an in-home family photography session outside of Asheville.

So that’s exactly what we did. I called the shoot 1/3 of the way through. We studied the sky for a bit and saw no break in the clouds. I gathered all four of my cameras along with all the layers of clothes I’d shed throughout the house. That was another motivator- I had my Portra 180 all ready to go in my Pentax Medium Format Film camera and another roll of Portra 400 in my other film camera. And since loading film still takes about two years off of my lifespan (particularly for the Pentax, if you know know you…) I wanted these rolls to MEAN SOMETHING. And I hit the road back to Asheville.

A great example of a documentary family photography (DFP) shot. One little girl is playing with her dad, while the other is bringing her foot close to her sister’s face. An authentic, unposed, truly candid childhood moment.

Since life is life, as soon as I was well underway, the clouds dissipated and not only did the light come back….but a HUGE rainbow broke out in my rear view mirror. I don’t text while I drive but if I did, I’d have written my client: “you had BETTER not be seeing this rainbow out of your front windows or my heart will break in a million pieces.” Best that I didn’t know. Spring is fickle, weather is unpredictable, what are you going to do?

Two daughters in a farmhouse outside of Asheville, North Carolina gaze at the camera while eating mangoes.

Dave and the kids were still on their river trip when I got home unexpectedly early, which gave me the time to throw together a girl dinner and eat while uploading and doing an initial edit of this 1/3 of a family photo session. I put Taylor Swift’s Midnight on the record player and went to town. That moment for me, about to dive into a treasure trove of raw images with no one else home and something to snack on, it’s almost as good as that moment in childhood when you’re about to dig into your Christmas stocking for the first time.

In conclusion…never trust a cloud. Always bring a flash. If bailing on a photo shoot due to weather, light, mood or any other circumstance feels like the right call, and your schedule and sanity allows? Go for it. Because it’s not always a possibility, never tell your clients beforehand that it’s possible- always underpromise and over deliver. But on the occasion that I’ve returned to a home for better conditions, I have never once regretted it.

Have a wonderful Easter everyone, and reach out if you’re interested in getting some family photos taken in Asheville, greater Western North Carolina, or anywhere in the country! I am a travel photographer!