Let me tell you the backstory here…

Cherika is a long-time friend and fellow photographer.  We met because we are both students of Amy and Jordan’s Shooting and Editing course!  We’ve been swapping photos for years, and she and her family moved to Yakima last year, so I don’t get to see them as much anymore.  Last fall they booked a family session with me in the Tri-Cities, but came down with COVID the week of our shoot!   We rescheduled for this spring, hoping for some blossom photos at the orchard, but the orchard folks didn’t get back to our inquiries until blossom time was over!  So then we planned on a session at Blue Mountain Lavender Farm, but then thunderstorms changed those plans (you’ve already heard my woes about the weather this spring!)!  Finally we opted for a session at the lovely Yakima Area Arboretum in Yakima, WA.  I was excited to get to shoot somewhere new and green!

We had a beautiful, sunny, warm evening, and Cherika and her family came looking so cute and dressed up, and we were really happy about the evening…until the mosquitos showed up in massive swarms!  Argh!  We tried a few different spots, hoping for fewer mosquitoes, but eventually had to call the session early.  Luckily, they hired a photographer who can work quickly, so we got the shots we were after, tried to stay positive about it, and then got the heck outta there!

Cherika and Brian, THANK YOU for staying so positive!  It was like the universe really didn’t want this photo session to happen, but we persevered!  I definitely learned a lesson about bringing some deet in my photo bag.  YIKES!  Your family is just so adorable and fun!  I wish we had had a bit longer to hang out and chat that evening, but hopefully we’ll meet up again soon! Tell Nathan he can totally come visit me next time you guys visit the Tri, and I don’t even have to try to take pictures!