This family portrait session in Hillsborough, NC was fun and fabulous | The Sullivan Family

It’s been over a year now since I started photographing for neighborhood magazines like the Heart of Hillsborough and Meadowmont and the Oaks.  I love doing this kind of editorial photography because it allows me to meet people who are all so unique in the work they do, as well as how they support our sense of community within each neighborhood.

I was recently chatting with Abby, mom to two fab cuties and wife to Brian, as well as the family in my recent feature shoot for the Heart of Hillsborough.  I plan the session like any other family portrait.  I like to ask what’s fun and familiar for the family and then bring my own sense of fabulous to our meetup.  This can feel like a lot when meeting someone for the first time so we take some breaks, ask the children to participate, and usually get laughs all around.  A session like this should feel fun so that when the family looks back at their photos, they remember what that day felt like.

Abby and her family were champs!  They smiled. They laughed. They played games. They made me laugh!  It can be hard to know what to do during a family portrait session, and I like to help pose and capture people so it feels authentic and their true selves shine on through.

When their family’s feature came out, many of Abby’s students showed up with a copy of the Heart of Hillsborough to their online class session.  Even one of her children’s friends showed off his copy!  Abby is offering to sign your copy of the magazine.  Her energy and her enthusiasm for her family, her students, and her town are unmatched!  (Do you need an autographed copy of your Heart of Hillsborough magazine?  I’ll put in a good word for you!)

Editorial photography is often creative work, and it allows me to show people’s passion and excitement through these portraits. It celebrates the people whose story I am sharing.  Each shoot is different. Each family is different. That’s my joy in capturing them: showing who they are, what they do, as well as sharing the smiles that light them up from the inside.

Is it time for your family to update their portrait?  Contact Barbara Bell Photography today.