The Bates Family

     As I was prepping and getting everything together to fly out to Atlanta, Georgia to photograph two awesome families not once did I think to myself, "I hope it doesn't rain while I'm out there". The entire time I was picturing bright sunny days that turned into the most beautiful sunsets and warm fall temperatures. Well, once again Mother Nature must have been laughing because she had other plans for us. I was going to be in Georgia for less than seventy-two hours and I had everything scheduled out with my clients. I was going to photograph The Dotson Family on Thursday evening (a few hours after I flew into Georgia), then The Bates Family on Friday evening, and fly back home on Saturday morning. As I flew into the airport in Atlanta, I couldn't see anything out of the plane window because the fog was so thick. I thought to myself, "Oh no! This isn't a good sign"! I kept thinking positively as I gathered my luggage and then, I stepped outside. Fog + pouring down rain = not the conditions you desire for an outdoor photo session. As I hugged Kim "Hello" all she could do was laugh. "Can you believe this?” she said. We talked the through entire trip to her house trying to decide what to do. Should we go on with the session? If we cancel the session, when would we be able to fit it in before I left? At this point the rain was really coming down and we knew the answer was clear.  It was then we got a call from Jill (I would be photographing her family the next day). Jill was just as concerned as Kim and I were about what to do. The weather for Friday looked a little better, so we decided to throw out the original plan completely and start again. The new plan looked like this: move the Bates family to an earlier time in the day on Friday (when the sun was supposed to come out) and then schedule the Dotson family immediately afterward. Whew! We were determined to not let anything get in the way of our photo session fun! 

     Friday afternoon arrived. It rained all morning and was still raining as I walked into the Bates’ home, but I was still very optimistic. I had a feeling everything was going to turn out well. And that it did! As we were driving to the park, the rain finally stopped. We were all so excited! One thing I’ve never experienced at an outdoor photo session in November was humidity. Oh. My. Goodness. I now know why it's nicknamed "Hotlanta". We were all so excited that the rain stopped, however the humidity came rolling in quickly after.  As soon as we stepped out of the car, Jill and I looked at each other and said, "Wow! It's a bit warm! At least the rain stopped! Ha"! Jill, Tom, Cooper and Hunter were AMAZING! I mean so very great! Not only was it hot, they all had on several layers of clothes. You would never be able to tell, from the pictures, how warm it was that afternoon. Their sweet smiles in every image says it all ... What an incredible little family they are! The boys were so sweet and were so easy to photograph! I loved hearing them giggle as they ran around playing in the leaves and chasing each other. They had me smiling the entire time! I had so much fun with Jill and Tom as well. Jill is hilarious and had me cracking up several times! What a sweetheart! Tom was such a trooper during their session. He never complained, not once, but would rather smiled and said, "sounds good to me" when I would give him instructions on what to do or where to stand. They were a dream to work with, especially under such crazy weather conditions. 

     It was truly an honor to photograph The Bates Family for many reasons, but especially because this was the first time they've had family portraits taken. I loved being able to capture some many wonderful memories for them that afternoon. They are such an incredible family and they will always hold a special place in my heart. Here are just a few of my favorite images of Jill, Tom, Cooper and Hunter - The Bates Family. Enjoy and Happy Friday!