Liberty State Park Family Session

On one of the coldest and windiest days of the winter, I met with the Rivera’s for a family session at Liberty State Park. I braved the weather with Johnny, Cathy and Cassidy and squeezed in a full gallery of photos in a short amount of time. The benefit of the cold was having the park all to ourselves. A quiet and chilly NYC skyline never looked better.

Despite the cold, it was perfect. Perfect because the location is sentimental - it is Cathy’s favorite place to visit because it was once her father's favorite place to visit. Also perfect because come May, their family will be growing in size. It was a session full of lots of love and laughter.

One of my favorite parts of any photo session is the ending, when everyone thinks they’re done. Everyone loosens up just enough for me to capture the real moments. One of my last photos was taken after Cassidy was bundled up and scooped up by her dad, ready to be carried to the car. Her eyes were peeking out from under her hat and her head was resting on her dad’s shoulder. The sun was directly behind them, creating a glow that lit up the entire frame. I yelled “WAIT. STOP” Johnny halted and I snapped Cassidy’s eyes, smiling. So happy to be in that moment.

And just like that, the Rivera's have their first family portraits...all 4 of them.