When I heard I made a grown man cry, I almost cried myself - not tears of sadness but tears of joy!
It was such an exciting moment because it meant I hit one of my big goals for this year - to make someone cry when they saw their family photos.
Apart from the actual photoshoot itself, one of my favourite parts of a family session is meeting the family again afterwards to show them their pictures. It's a special moment as we always start with a slideshow set to music - and they usually have to watch it at least three times - before we can get down to the hard part of choosing all their favourites!
Sadly I couldn't share that time with this family as we had done their photoshoot while they were on holiday in New Zealand from Australia. But still, after sending them their photo gallery online, it was one email that made my day: "We loved the photos, thank you so much. Dad cried when I showed him the slideshow."
It was such a lovely family photoshoot. Everybody was so relaxed and happy - and no wonder! They were on holiday!
I think this is a brilliant idea - I will be booking my own family session next time we go on holiday too.
This holiday was extra-special for this family as they were holidaying together with the grandparents and three siblings and their families. They live thousands of miles apart in Australia so having that time together simply had to be captured!
How often does ALL of your family get together?
I'll bet if your family is anything like mine it doesn't happen nearly as often as you would like. As I've got older (and hopefully a little wiser) I've learned that these are the kind of times you have to treasure.
You need to really live in the moment and enjoy it to the fullest, and to be able to bring those memories back with beautiful photos is a bonus!
You just never know when - or even if - they will happen again.
Capturing large families together can be a challenge!
Families always tell me they chose me as their photographer because they love the natural look and feel of my work. It always gives me a warm glow when people say this :-) so creating this un-posed feel with large groups is a challenge I'm embracing.
I always start with the group photos of everybody together as these are usually the most important pictures. It's best to do these first while all the children are still fresh and happy.
From there we will move to pictures of all the children together - because, seriously, these shots are always just to darned cute to miss!
And then I always love to get a series of pictures of each individual family, as it's a great opportunity for them to update their family photos at the same time.
I love how, even though each family is shot in the same location, the individuality of each family always emerges. It never ceases to amaze me how different each family is and how they all have their own personality and feel.
It's also nice for everybody else to have a break while I'm working with each family because, believe it or not, having your photos taken is hard work!
It was an extra bonus to have this family photoshoot at Larnach Castle as the others could wander around the gardens while waiting, or even go have a coffee in the cafe.
Many people tell me they go home and crash out after a photoshoot - it must be all that positive energy, love and non-stop cuddles I think!
Who is Edith Leigh?
I am a contemporary lifestyle photographer who specialises in fun, natural, un-posed family photography to help you create eye-catching, heart-felt wall art for you home.
Based in Dunedin, New Zealand, my style is fun and energetic with a touch of the classical thrown in.
I love to capture real life, family connections and pictures that tell the story of your family.
You can find out more about me here.