One of the most rewarding parts of my career as a wedding and portrait photographer is when I get to photograph my clients for additional milestone moments in their lives. Recently my very first wedding couple, Amanda & Dustin, contacted me because they are expecting their second little one. Queue all the heart eye emojis: 😍😍😍 Needless to say, I was thrilled to have the privilege of documenting yet another special moment in their lives in addition to their engagement, wedding, and first maternity session.

For this session, we decided to combine a family portrait session with some maternity shots to make sure the whole family was included. Amanda chose a beautiful beach spot for the location and we met up about two hours before sunset so we would have beautiful afternoon light to work with.

For the first half of the session, the family wore cute and casual outfits that coordinated, rather than matched exactly. I love encouraging my clients to plan their outfits this way because it makes a much more visually pleasing image and it looks more authentic and candid.

Since family portraits can sometimes be stressful or overwhelming for little kids, I always try to use posing and direction techniques that make the process more fun. We started out with some easy walking photos to help everyone get comfortable and we made it fun for the little guy by having Dustin and Amanda swing him up off his feet. The first image in the series is one of my all time favorite family portrait images!

For the second half of the session, Amanda wore a special maternity outfit that her mother in law made for her so that we could capture a more whimsical maternity look. As the sunset really started to manifest, I pulled out one of my lights to make the sky pop and create some dramatic maternity images for Amanda.

Check out some of the highlights from this Newport Beach family photography session below:

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Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out this Newport Beach family photography session. I hope you enjoyed the images! If you’re interested in having me photograph your family please check out my family portrait information page or you can sign up to get my 8 best tips for a great family portrait session below! Hope to chat with you soon! 😊