“I just want it to look like fall behind us,” Meredith told me as we were planning her family session. I think it’s safe to say that she got exactly what she wished for! After the warmest October in recent memory, we finally got a gorgeous display of oranges, golds, and warm greens at Burke Lake.
We had an intense day of torrential downpour the day before, so Meredith and I waited until the morning of the session to confirm that everything was a go – thankfully the rain petered out in the wee morning hours, and we were able to proceed as planned, with some mild cloudy weather. Truth be told, some locations really shine in cloudy conditions, and Burke Lake is one of them! The clouds functioned like a giant softbox, reducing glare from the water and allowing the colors and reflections of the lake to peek through.
As soon as I met Meredith and Sean in the parking lot, along with little Quinn and faithful guard dog Ella, I was super excited for the session ahead. Meredith had picked out the most gorgeous color palette of rich burgundy and brown, soft pink, and sage green, which looked amazing against the fall colors. Ella, a Sheltie Shepherd, even had a little matching green bandana!
Ella was in top-model-dog mode throughout the session, posing and smiling for me like a serious pro. She was a true water-lover, and I’m pretty sure she had the most fun out of all of us, running alongside the lake, picking up sticks and sniffing the wet leaves. Manuel had a blast dogsitting her off camera!
Meanwhile, it was Quinn’s first time having professional family photos taken, so she was understandably a little apprehensive of me and my huge camera. But after some patient coaxing, fruit gummi snacks, and a relaxing Cocomelon break in the stroller, she started to warm up to the camera, and the smiles she gave me towards the end of the session are some of my favorite toddler photos I’ve ever taken! We ended the session playing with rocks and shells at the shore, and I loved capturing Quinn in her relaxed, exploratory state.
Enjoy these photos of the gorgeous Bodkin family!
<3,
Jocelyn
Jocelyn Bravo is an Alexandria family photographer who specializes in creating joyful and luminous images for families and couples. While you will usually find her in Northern VA, she loves meeting and working with clients all across the DMV area.
