The Chamberlains go to the Zoo

In December, I got to spend a morning at the Los Angeles Zoo with the Chamberlain family taking pictures that would turn into Christmas presents for the grandparents. The kids were real troopers as we had to walk all the way to the back of the zoo to find a good shady location. I set up a fill flash on a stand through an umbrella off to the right to help lift the shadows. Some random kid thought it was the coolest thing ever. So cool, in fact, that he decided to run around it in circles really fast until he knocked it over. Needless to say i used my best adult voice to promptly dismiss him from the scene.

We ended up with some really nice pics of the family. After the formal shots, we got to run around the zoo checking out all the animals. The bears were particularly exciting that day. I think I want to visit the zoo again soon. Here’s my favorites from the session:

 

Thomas loved the map! I’m not sure we ever would have navigated the zoo properly without his expert guidance.

 

Ella was a wonderful model! Her cheerful and playful personality really shines through in these photos. 

I think this is a really sweet picture of Kath with her kids. 

This is my favorite of the group family shots. Yeah, thomas isn’t looking quite at the camera, but I can’t really blame him. There were BEARS just a few hundred yards from where he was sitting! BEARS!!

Thanks, Wade, for treating me to a zoo trip and letting me spend a morning photographing your family. Let’s go see bears again sometime.