Family: Joe & Becky; Emma, Rose, Hazel
Scene: Orchard, Pond’s Edge, Wildwood
Time of day: Morning
Season: Late spring
Atmosphere: Bubbly, cheerful, spontaneous
Look at them at any time of year, and springtime country portraits can awaken the optimism of the first warm days. Annual portraits are a routine many families embrace, but fall doesn’t have to be the only season on the list, or even the favorite.
Country Portraits in the Springtime
What is it about springtime country portraits that both instills anxiety and inspires hope? We long for the opportunity to spread out, stretch our imagination, and explore the unknown. Unfortunately, sometimes a fear of the unknown—shaped like a legitimate concern that the effort we put into a portrait experience won’t play out as we hoped—simmers below the surface and prompts us to simply not schedule a portrait session.
Nate and I hijacked the usual holding pattern (“I need to set a date with a photographer. I’ll do it tomorrow …”) when we accepted Joe and Becky’s cheeky offer to provide a family of cute models. It was mid-winter. They knew we hadn’t yet photographed a family in the springtime at our new home and would be starting the model call process in the coming months. When I asked her to tell me about the offer, Becky said, “We had you over for dinner one night, new friends from church, and I kind of jokingly, tongue-in-cheek, said, ‘If you ever need some cute models, let me know!’ And a couple months later you emailed me and said, ‘Actually…’”
Joe & Becky’s Genuine Portraits
Before the session began, Nate set up our antique cot and daybed mattress in the orchard under the apple blossoms. Morning sunshine filtered through rapidly growing leaves and petals, creating a soft glow unmatched for the rest of the hour. We alternated arranging their family into snuggly poses and breaking into giggles as Becky showed us why she doesn’t nuzzle. “I don’t nuzzle—because of glasses. I can’t even do this right! Glasses and Joe’s hats. It just doesn’t work.”
In place of our nuzzling suggestions, Becky dropped herself backward on the cot and propped her feet on Joe’s lap. “This is how we normally snuggle at home. I’m usually reading a book with my feet on his lap, and Joe’s working on his computer.”
Bringing context to the nuzzling conversation, Joe added, “I know which poses are not normal for us, so I know she’s not going to pick them. Becky doesn’t want something that falsifies who we really are, and that would feel like a falsehood. The authentic piece is important.”
“Yeah, that’s true. It has to be genuine.“
Life in the Country
We continued the hour of country portraits with a ride on the trailer around the pond to Wildwood. It’s a scene best known for its mid-winter snow-covered trees, but magnificent on this particular day for the drifting fragrance of crab tree blossoms.
A soft breeze kept us cool as the temperature climbed into the warm 70s. The girls chased falling petals. We moms and dads delighted in the joy of our children (and yes, the Crist kids were out there, too). We’d recommended the orchard for its fresh greens and blossoms, and Wildwood for its timeless feel, and we took a few minutes to simply play together before resuming portraits.
Twirls and leaps wiggled out, we made use of the depth of the evergreens at the front of the woods. We placed Joe and Becky in front of one of the middle trees, with the girls grinning up at them, then sent them wandering in slow-motion down the rows, “Chins up so it doesn’t look like you’ve lost your necks.” Finally, we spread them out in a line on the outskirts of the trees and followed up on Rose’s spontaneous (and good-natured) growl. “Three, two, one, go!” was met with a chorus of growls bordering on screams which, when finally breathless, brought out the best grins.
Attitudes & Outfits
Joe and Becky are indulgent, intuitive, and great listeners. For the hour we had them, we reveled in Joe’s example of a strong father who loves to see his daughters enjoy good gifts. Becky’s a clear illustration of a Proverbs 31 wife. Among other qualities, she’s energetic, carries herself with dignity, and enriches the lives of her husband and children. Their three girls are generous and kind, and have quickly become friends with our kids. Ours light up whenever they cross paths with Joe and Becky’s girls at church.
Their family’s days are marked by abundance. Whether relaxing through dirt therapy in an expansive garden, tending to a new brood of chicks, homeschooling the girls, or leading the decorating team for Buffalo Covenant Church’s VBS and Music and Drama Camp, Joe and Becky love generously. My favorite stories to hear involve Becky’s completing another piece of leather work for Acorn Ridge, their home-based enterprise to share the love of Christ through handmade leather products and cooking classes in their kitchen.
On the morning of their session they stepped out of the car in what they describe as their Sunday clothes, a significant contrast from the comfy work clothes they wear around home and in the garden. The muted pastels and earthy tones, combined with periodic shade as clouds drifted across the sun, accentuated their clear skin and had us remarking throughout the hour that they appeared to have put on the exact same colors as those naturally happening around them. (The pinks in particular perfectly matched the petals on our flowering trees.)
Beautiful colors + beautiful attitudes = a fantastic hour of country portraits around the pond.
Delivery Day
On the afternoon I delivered their acrylic to hang above the piano, I asked Joe and Becky to share their favorite part of the portrait process. From the initial planning stages to the arrival of their artwork to hang on the wall, Becky named their session as her favorite: “I liked getting to go take pictures and not be the one in charge of posing everybody and thinking it all through. I liked just getting everything ready, then going, and then it not being my responsibility.”
Joe clarified, “You liked just doing what you were told?”
“Yes! I’m not very good at that. But it worked well.”
Joe said, “For me, it was most fun to go through the process of actually taking the photos. Mostly because it’s fun to watch the girls have fun—smile and giggle, make sounds, chase leaves and petals. It’s fun to see them enjoy that process. That was my favorite.”
I asked the girls what they loved about having portraits taken, and they all named play. Emma said, “I liked playing after taking pictures.” And Rose said, “I liked taking pictures, too.” Hazel agreed. “I liked playing with Chase.”
A Cloud Over Their Country Portraits
What I haven’t told you about Joe and Becky’s story yet is that the time that elapsed between their session and their reveal was approximately a month. That’s way too long. And in a situation in which I know that differences in expectations have led to confusion and frustration, I’m a fan of asking (sometimes awkward) questions to clear the air.
Least Favorite Part
I asked Becky, “What was your least favorite part of the experience? Those awkward nuzzling poses, or another part of the process that had you going, ‘Hmm… Not how I thought it was going to go …’?”
Becky told me, “I think it came down to scheduling, for me. I wasn’t sure how the scheduling of the reveal was supposed to work. Maybe I didn’t read the welcome guide carefully enough … not totally sure … so your wanting Joe to be there and trying to plan around his schedule caught me off guard. I knew exactly what was happening through the shoot, but after that I didn’t really know what was happening.”
The Lull
Nate was on worship team at another church a couple times in June, so he and I were both gone from BCC, and I knew that Becky had a massive task ahead of her as the decorating coordinator for VBS. At the end of their session we’d loosely decided to wait until after VBS to put a date for the reveal on the calendar, but our decision to not schedule the reveal at all until after VBS ended was the beginning of a lull that would last for weeks—and it would grow to include Joe and Becky’s confusion regarding who should be present at the reveal.
In my effort to not be a pest on repeat, saying, “We need it on the calendar. We need it on the calendar!” I failed to get their reveal on the calendar until well beyond the bounds of expectations.
Another question I love to ask: How could we have made your experience even better? Becky answered, “ I think if we had just sped the whole thing up from beginning to end, and it was like a two-week process, that’d be awesome. It was in large part my schedule that caused it to stretch out, but it would be more fun if it were a faster process. I think if we’d had everything on the calendar before we even started, that would have helped.”
Was the Effort Worth It?
So on delivery day, as Becky looked at their brand new acrylic hanging over the piano, I asked her, “Was all of the work that went into it worth it, including the confusion I caused, now that you see the picture on the wall?” She answered, “Yeah. Yes. Because otherwise we wouldn’t have a family picture on the wall for another year, at least … maybe decade.” She gestured to her head as she continued, “I have visions up here of pictures that I want to do, but getting them from up here to there takes a very long time. So the fact that you guys got it done as quickly as you did was very helpful!”
Photographer’s Favorite
There’s so much to love here. Their boots. The snuggles. The sunshine through the new leaves behind them. Nate’s composition of the image to include the gate in the background, but not directly behind them. Their clothes, the same colors as what’s on the trees. #dreamy
Country Portrait Highlights
Browse the highlights of Joe & Becky’s morning session.
Want to see a bit of the day I delivered their 20×30″ acrylic? We filmed it, then wrote about it on their testimonial page here.
