If you’re planning a family portrait session in Santa Cruz, this might be exactly the inspiration you need! Changing weather conditions gave us a few bumps on this one but we ended up with incredible family photos that will be cherished for a lifetime. I’m so lucky to spend time with Sugar’s family, what a wonderful and loving group of people that make my job a breeze! We had originally planned to do a family portrait session at Davenport Beach in Santa Cruz, but right as I was driving there the fog rolled in and it became nothing but mist. I met up with the family at our determined location and they had an idea - they both went to school at UCSC and said that the fog usually wouldn’t roll in there and it’s probably still sunny. Additionally they had a history with a certain spot on the campus that I had never heard of (secret spot..can’t tell you!). I said let’s go for it! So we were off to the next spot and sure enough it was nice and sunny there!

As sunset came in I quickly ran ahead and scouted some nice lighting, and before you know it this impromptu location had turned into the perfect Santa Cruz family photo session! Here’s just a handful of the photos I took, when the family is so photogenic I just can’t help but take hundreds of photos! This shoot was all about going with the flow, you never know what the weather will give you, you never know how the kids will behave, but if you think on your feet and use the right combination of creativity, technical ability, and willingness to do what it takes for a great shot, you can make anything turn into a beautiful family portrait session.