Drawing out truly authentic family portraits without the stuff-y overly posed feeling of the past is one of my greatest goals in family portrait photography.  While the past seven years of family photography here in Alexandria has taught me how to draw this out of most families, during their sessions, one of the easiest ways to do it is through friendships over time.  This is my 3rd years photographing this crew and I’ve gotten to know them so much better over the last couple of years.  ….and that tends to come through in their photos.

I always use “posing” as a fairly loose term and try to embrace what feels most authentic.  I realize every single family needs the “framer” for grandma’s mantle, but when we, as parents, all look back in another 20 years, I feel it’s the “outtakes” that will remain our favorites from family sessions.

Absolutely love the “six year old sass” coming out of this one.

Lighting matters a lot in photography.  Converting a color image to black and white is for me the acid test of great light in portraits.  Throughout a session, I’m always looking for light that will make this conversion possible and dramatic.  Yes, I typically still deliver all of the images in color too, but I may or may not like the black and white portraits just as much.

I’m absolutely in LOVE with the gardens at Greenspring Gardens in Alexandria, VA!  This year the plantings are *quite* as robust as past years (oh hey there pandemic), but they are beautiful none the less).  I know people often think of spring as the “blooming” season here in Washington DC & Northern Virginia….and while the cherry blossoms are a show stopper, late summer has even more options for color

I’m going to have to give her a pass for using Canon!….but this little gal wanted to bring her own camera to their family portrait session.  This is the future of photography right here.

Erin Tetterton is the artist behind Erin Tetterton Photography and the top family portrait photographer in Alexandria, VA.  Creating authentic family portraits to share with generations to come AND making the session FUN is Erin’s top priority.  Beyond family portrait photography itself, Erin has also photographed all over Alexandria, northern Virginia, and the DC area and is happy to make family portrait session locations for you that will look and feel authentic to your family.  For more family portrait magic, check out this holiday themed family photography session at Georgetown University or these 6th Birthday Portraits of my own little one.

To schedule your own session: CONTACT ERIN TETTERTON TODAY. 🙂