Meet the Cervantes family.

Elya informed me of two things from the get-go. She doesn’t like to wear shoes. And she didn’t want these pictures to look like they had been taken in a garden. (Although we really did take them in a garden)

Check and check.

When Gabriel first stepped out of the car my instantaneous thought to myself was, “Oh this kid is cool.” Once we started taking pictures Gabriel kept cracking Elya, Robbie and myself up with his cool faces — you’ll see as we keep going.

Elya, Gabriel and Robbie

This must be Gabriel’s serious face.

Check out that swagger. It’s all in the shoulders and the head tilt.

In addition to being 400% cool, Gabriel also had an awesome attitude about taking photos. You don’t get that with every 9-year-old boy, so I’m giving him props for it.

When it came time for some individual shots, Gabriel was ready with pose after pose. All I had to do was snap.

This is all Gabriel, folks.

Although Gabriel was a tough act to follow, Elya and Robbie did just fine themselves.

Looking good, you two.

Sweet family hug.

For the final portion of the session we did succumb a tiny bit to letting the pictures look more garden-y, but I got Elya’s permission first.

The one above is definitely a favorite.

If every session I shot ended with a head thrown back in laughter — I’d be okay with it.

I had such a fun morning exploring the gardens with you, Cervantes family!