After finally visiting the National Harbor with my family earlier this year I knew instantly that I wanted to shoot a family portrait session here. It’s such a fun atmosphere with the ferris wheel, carousel and the faux beach and half buried sculpture. So I was excited to find a family with the fun and outgoing personality to fit the location.
Meet the P family. I’ve photographed this large extended family before and always have a blast capturing them through the lens. They are full of energy and willing to try anything, plus they like to bring their own ideas to the table as well. Such a fun family to photograph, even when initial plans and preparations are thwarted by mother nature.
After visiting this site several times to prep and hash all the details, everything seemed set for shoot day; I was pretty excited.
Then, as I strolled up to the edge of the harbor to get ready to enter the faux beach to set up I see barriers to the entrances where I had planned to shoot, and my heart sank. It had rained pretty heavily the night before and the sand was flooded. Total bummer. To make matters worse the clouds behind what was to be our backdrop were dark and stormy. This wasn’t looking good.
It was a gloomy feeling, but luckily it didn’t last long. I picked up my gear and moved over to the dock in front of the ferris wheel and almost immediately the clouds started to lighten and I could tell it was going to be a nice morning. Once the first members of the family started to show up we took some initial pictures to get rolling and sky opened up even more. At one point after the whole family arrived it even started to sprinkle, but it didn’t seem to phase anyone. We just had a great time, and even got to enjoy a gorgeous rainbow after the tiny “shower.” It was all well worth sticking it out in the end.
If you live in the DMV area and are interested in family portraits at the National Harbor or another location in the vicinity please contact By Jmill Photography for more information.
