Pensacola Family Portraits - Steven Gray Photography

Pensacola Family Portraits

Beaches, matching white shirts and jeans, the fountain downtown...these are all trademarks of Pensacola family portraits.  With our proximity to the beach and the ready availability of spectacular sunsets, families in this area tend to default to the beach without considering all the other options nearby.  However, when I am consulted on a good location for family portraits, I try to steer clients away from the areas where everyone else goes.  Part of this is my professional responsibility--to give people something different than the Joneses down the street--but part of it is also selfish on my part, because the last thing I want to do to is go back to the beach and take the same images as every other photographer in town.

This is especially true when fall rolls around.  I love this time of year.  With the changing colors on the ground and in the trees (even Florida's green landscape experiences a little bit of change) the sunsets are warmer and richer.  The season almost removes the divide between landscapes and portraiture; outdoor scenes look amazing and people look amazing standing in them.  My job becomes very easy.

When my dear friend Karena, with whom I have worked in India for several years, asked me to take portraits of her family.  The crew included Karena, her husband John, their daughters Brittney and Jordan, and Britney's boyfriend Brandon and his little girl, Kendall. When the subject of location came up, I suggested that we skip the beach and honor the season and visit a location that looks great this time of year.  I used to wander all over the area to find unique places for family portraits, landscapes and even music videos and short films, and I found a location north of town several years ago that swiftly became one of my favorites.  It seemed like the perfect place to shoot family portraits in November.

And, you know what?

It was!

Annie is a graduate! - Pensacola Graduation Photography

Graduation photography is a blast, but college itself is an interesting thing.  More than just an avenue for making new friends, but it also has a way of bringing old acquaintances back together. I knew Annie years ago.  We went to church together, but we never talked much.  Then I arrived at the University of West Florida found out that our majors were in the same department.  We had quite a few classes together and became friends in the process.

We both graduated as undergrads few weeks ago, and Annie wanted to commemorate the event with some photos in her cap and gown.  As the designated friend with a camera, I made sure she had some good ones.  We shot photos from Pensacola Beach to UWF, covering everything from the scenic beaches to the stage where Annie performed and etched in University theatre productions.

Congrats, Annie!