Jessi's Family Sneak Peek

Yep, Jessi's back!  She's starting to feel like an old friend isn't she?  First you got to see her solo session, and then you got to meet her brother.  Now she's back for another fun-filled family session with her cousins.

As soon as Jessi learned that her family would be visiting her in Phoenix this summer, she contacted me to schedule this session.  After months of planning, we finally settled on an early morning session the morning after her family arrived into town.  The session location was a last minute change to a gorgeous park not too far away from Jessi's apartment.  I have to admit that I fell in love with this location the moment I saw it, and I'm very happy we ended up making the switch!

Our goal for the session was to capture some fun family photos of the six of them without passing out in the insane Phoenix summer heat.  So, I did everything I could to prepare for the session and plan out the shots ahead of time, and enlisted Kevin to help me stay on track.  By the end of the session we were definitely all hot, sweaty, exhausted, and starving, but the kids were total troopers and managed to hang in there long enough to get some really great photos.

So, I once again give to you the fabulous Jessi.  And I am pleased to introduce you to Darren, Libby, Bailey, Kate, and Braxton!

I thought it would be fun to get a photo with some of the Phoenix buildings in the background, so we started out our session with this one.  I really love it in black and white (but that's nothing new!)...

I had already planned on taking some group shots in front of this door, but once everyone arrived and I saw their outfits I knew this was going to be a perfect location!  I just love the contrast of the black shirts against the white door.  I adore how Libby and Kate are holding hands and how Braxton is leaning into Bailey. Too sweet!...

Here is another fav in black and white! I have to admit that Braxton was a tough customer, and just might win the award for the toughest kid to get a real smile out of ever! Luckily, cousin Jessi was there to get Braxton laughing for this set of photos. I asked Jessi to stand right behind me and talk to Braxton to get him to smile, and she did a great job! Thank you, Jessi!...

Jess with all the kids...

How about a gorgeous photo of each of the kids by themselves?

Braxton, once again with the help of Jessi in the background...

Kate, who was nothing but smiles the entire session!  I didn't mention it to her during the session but Kate is my all time favorite name EVER.  If I could have named myself I would have picked Kate, so it was so much fun getting to meet someone with my fav name...

And the gorgeous, Bailey!  From the first moment I meet Bailey, I kept calling her Ashley. I felt bad for constantly confusing her name, and kept apologizing to her over and over. She final told me not to worry about it and she would just answer to Ashley for the day. Isn't that just the sweetest thing ever! ...

It just wouldn't be a Jessi session without a little bit of fun and craziness! I can not describe how much I love this one!...

Jessi, thank you so much for allowing me to capture these photos for you, and for single handedly keeping me in business this past month.  :)  Everyone else, thank you for spending a few hours of your vacation with me and allowing me to take your photos. And a huge thanks for getting up at the crack of dawn and hanging in there with the Phoenix heat during our session. I hope you enjoyed your visit and your time with Jessi.

Michele Whitacre is a portrait photographer serving Phoenix, Arizona and the surrounding area. Visit Michele's website at michelewhitacrephotography.com. Become a fan of Michele's work on Facebook. Follow Michele's updates on Twitter.