I was so excited when Brookelyn reached out to me about setting up spring family photos. I’ve had my eye on this location for months now and was thrilled that she wanted to shoot here. While the location is similar to a few others that I’ve been to recently, this one is my favorite. The beach is big enough to move around comfortably without being too close to the water. As an added bonus, there was a lot for the kids to do too! I highly recommend this Albuquerque Bosque Beach.

Spring Family Photos at Albuquerque Bosque Beach

Brookelyn warned me ahead of time that her kids are pretty shy. She suggested that I give them some time to warm up to me and not talk to them directly to start. I followed her lead and it didn’t take long for me to understand her concern. The kiddos were certainly well behaved, but I wasn’t getting the big, genuine smiles that I wanted. In order to help with this, we walked from the overlook near the parking lot down to the water.

Helping Reluctant Kids

Once we got to the water, the kids found rocks and sticks to throw into the river. That was the first win! I captured some great candid shots of them playing and that’s when the genuine smiles started to come out. I couldn’t just capture those shots though, as I knew Brookelyn wanted some more of the whole family. Rather than sticking with static poses, I opted for dynamic ones and had some luck with asking everyone to hold hands and walk towards me.

I wrapped up with a kid favorite – the running tackle hug! They were amazing at following directions and allowed me to capture this shot in two directions. First, I had the kids run away from me and I captured their parents beautiful smiles. Then, we switched sides and I captured the excited looks on the kids faces as they ran toward their parents. These are definitely keepers!

I loved spending the morning with the Williams family and appreciated the challenge of reluctant kids. If you’re nervous about how your kids will behave for photos, that’s okay! Don’t let that be an excuse to not take them. Your family’s story deserves to be captured and preserved and I would love the opportunity to draw out those sweet smiles. If you’re interested in working together, please reach out!

They loved playing near the water!

Gotta get those sweet Mom & Dad shots too!

Just look at those faces! 😍

If you enjoyed this post, you may also love:

• ABQ Family Photography | Elena Gallegos Open Space | The Bencoe Family
• ABQ Family Photos | Rio Rancho Bosque Preserve | The Coy Family
• Bosque Fall Mini Sessions | Albuquerque, NM Photographer