traditional family portrait photographer

For the past four years, I have been trying to perfect the art of creating a modern family portrait without being completely cheesy or posed. In short, this is hard to do. It seems as the number of family members increase, so do frustration and awkwardness. Generally my focus is on INDIVIDUAL portraits, and at the end of a session, I throw everyone together and hope for something good. And I admit, some portraits been clever and looked good, but never ever have I had one that looks traditional YET cool. Until now. As I pat myself on the back, I please take a look at this shot:I added a heavy vignette around the edges to modernize the overall look and help focus on the faces of each family member. I think that I love how natural and comfortable everyone appears (although it was about 45 degrees outside). Also, the height of each person varies enough that your eye moves easily from left to right and ends with the girl on the right, who is so cute and happy.
It also helps me when the mom (and dad) trust me. I LOVE clients that say "just do what you do" and so if I ask them to wear their favorite hats and scarfs (because it is Oregonian) they just do it. Even if they don't match. Like these two supersweet sisters, who evidently thought I was funny.I really enjoyed photographing this family. I am pretty sure they thought I was a tad bit nuts, but luckily, that is ok with me!