A few weeks ago I had a ton of fun with a family portrait session on the beach. The children were adorable and full of energy, never breaking down and behaving perfectly. And the parents were willing to do just about anything to get a fun, non-traditional portrait. Since finishing the proofs the mother e-mailed: "We had a blast. We would like to plan to do that hopefully every year . . . We are so pleased with the pics and we can't thank you enough!" Much credit goes to my wife who stands behind me and gets children to smile so wide.

My film school roots sometimes come through in the widescreen format.

And here's a more traditional, but still fun portrait.