Janette Lane Photography: Crystal Cove Shoot

It was cloudy. It was overcast. And the promise of capturing a perfect, fall sunset was pretty much out of the question. I was really discouraged about all the aforementioned when I arrived at Crystal Cove with my assistant (AKA my husband). My first, official family shoot was off to a dreary start! Poor natural lighting, coupled with the task of taking pictures of a large group of people (including two kiddos) was a little bit daunting. A large group means more eyes that need to not blink when the picture is snapped, more smiles to synchronize, and most importantly, cooperation. Understandably, I was ~~a little~~ nervous. However, when the Castaneda-Daneshmand family arrived, all smiles with matching outfits, I was a bit more at ease, almost immediately. They were excited to have their pictures taken together and their enthusiasm was infectious. A few gray clouds weren't going to stop us. Our time at the beach (2 hours or so) went by quickly. And while I didn't capture the perfect sunset (or any sun for that matter) our time at the beach ended up being more of a fun, Sunday family outing. I'm grateful for that. Here are some of my favorites: