Meet the Mitchell family. Over the past eleven years I’ve photographed them ten times (missed one year in 2015) watching them grow from 8 people, to 14 of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. I’ll be honest, it’s work to coordinate this every year and shoots with six kids under 12 years old is ALWAYS a challenge. That said, how freaking cool is this to have a history of your family, growing year after year. We’ve shot these family portraits at a myriad of different locations, from their backyard to their front yard to the Hotel Del Coronado to little parks right off the side of the road, to the beautiful beach in Del Mar, but really, the location is secondary to the people in the shot. Showing up is 95% of the battle. So my advice to any young family is (and I need to listen to my own advice), MAKE THE EFFORT! Do a family portrait once every year and you will be so happy you did when you can look back at a gallery like this.