Zawadzki Family Film from Michel Sandy on Vimeo.

film/editing: Michel Sandy
photography/concept: Tara Whitney
music: Something Good This Way Comes by Jakob Dylan
HD version here.

The home was, quite literally, amazing. The children were stunning and lovely to work with. And the parents were super chill and ready for anything. Michel and I were beyond thrilled that someone had finally let us shoot in their home. Earlier in the day, Leah had shared with me the song that she wanted to use for this. The moment it started playing, the goosebumps started. I had never heard it, and I connected, big time. This was the moment that I updated my Twitter feed with this. I spent the next two hours listening to the song on repeat – and while we shot, the lyrics were running through my mind constantly.

I raced off an email to Michel with the song attached, hoping he would be as inspired by it. Yea, I guess he was.

I just stopped writing this to watch it again, so I end with tears in my eyes and a very full heart.

I love love.

xo

Tara

You can read more about the Labenz family on this post, where their home movie was featured. You can also read more about them on this post, from their first photo session with me. This time around, we met up at Huntington Beach on a VERY crowded evening, with intensely bright sun, a boy who just wanted to play in the sand, and a barely walking one year old who couldn’t get enough of the waves.

LOVE mom’s dress. This was before Miss Olivia set her eyes on the sea. You will note: she is dry.

And then they saw the water. This was a rough night at the beach. It was high tide when we got there. The waves were crashing right on shore, and they were fast and violent. Olivia made a bee line for the water. She had absolutely ZERO fear. I also mentioned above, but the beach was packed. It was nearly impossible to get a frame for them without other people in it.

Jack was enamored with the sand crab hunt.

These next three perfectly capture Olivia and her fearlessness!

(We tried to trick her by going away from the water, further towards the boardwalk. She wasn’t going to be tricked. This is her doing her robotic baby walk on the sand. It is hard to walk on the sand man! But she wasn’t going to be stopped.) :) I just love her wet sandy dress and how the sand is sprinkling off.

This was the second or third or fourth wipe out for her. Did she care? Guess. (Normally a shot like this might get trashed, but I had to keep it in.)

Love the colors and light in this next set with Jack Jack.

Distraction with sand castles!

Only worked for two minutes before she was off again. I love her tenacity. I LOVE THIS SHOT.

And this one. This may be my favorite from the afternoon. I love the swish of Anna’s skirt, her gorgeous calves, and the water pooling at their feet.

Okay, another favorite. :) I can feel her arms around that baby, I can feel what it feels like to wrap your arms around your baby when I look at this. I also love Dad and Jack in deep conversation.

In the home movie, there is a frame where they run past us, and Anna does this fist pump in the air that makes us all smile. These were taken just after the fist pump. I love the natural-ness. Is that a word?

Thanks again you guys.

xo

Tara

Sharing the still shots from one of our first home movie sessions. You can view their family film here, and see some more of my favorite shots from our morning together.

I loved the carefree beach-y vibe of the clothes they wore. And really, have you ever seen a family that is so ridiculously good looking? I’ll take some of those genes please. :)

I couldn’t help but see them all together (two brothers, two sisters) and hope that someday my own brood of four would be as close, and have as much fun together.

If you are USC fans, you may recognize Brynn and Jordan Cameron. Little brother Colby plays at Louisiana Tech. Not being a sports fan myself, I was clueless. :)

These are salt of the earth people. People you just want to be around.

xo

Tara

I have kept tabs on their family over the last two years via email and Facebook, and was elated to hear when they welcomed a third child into the world.

As I watched this particular film, I couldn’t help thinking about JLB. He was there too, in the hugs and the kisses and the smiles. I imagine him sitting up on a puffy little cotton candy cloud, his little baby soul shining down on all of us, so happy to see his family so happy.

They just shine.

The LaBenz Family Film from Michel Sandy on Vimeo.

As ever, feel free to watch the film here, but it is always so much better in its glory in HD. Click the link below the movie to view in HD.

Film: Michel Sandy
Images: Tara Whitney
Music: A Beautiful World by Tim Myers

Anna, Mike, Jack, JLB, and Olivia….I adore you all!

xo

Tara

I met April on the Find Yourself, Thailand trip. The first time I saw her I was struck by how calm, cool, and collected she was. In Bangkok. No one is calm, cool, or collected in Bangkok. The sweat glands on my upper lip can prove it to you. They remember. And yet there she was, in a crisp white shirt and perfect jewelry. (Her own designs, might I add?) A smile on her face. Telling us about how she had left her wallet in a taxi, something that would have made me curl up into a ball and beg for mercy, but that had her shrugging her shoulders. I could take lessons from this woman, is what I thought. Lessons on how to stay cool under pressure. As I got to know her, I listened first hand as she spoke about their desire to adopt a child. And then, a miracle happened and people came together, and just a few months ago their dream came to life in the form of Miss Amelie.

Film: Michel Sandy
Images: Tara Whitney
Music: The Littlest Birds by The Be Good Tanya’s

xo

Tara