What do you get when you mix a delightful family, absolutely perfect mid-summer weather, and Northwest Montana's beautiful scenery? Some truly amazing, almost unbelievable family portraits. I truly didn't want this portrait session to end, and the Patterson's to return to their home in Florida. I wanted them to find a house here not even so that I could have them as repeat clients, but just to hang out and chat.
There is nothing quite like spending an amazing day on the doorstep of Glacier National Park with a little over 100 of your friends on the happiest day of their lives. You might think I'm referring to Paige and Christopher, but the reality is I'm talking about myself.
I meet the most amazing couples, and at the end of the day—literally and metaphorically—weddings are one big party. That doesn't have to mean loud music and wild dancing during the reception, but it certainly can mean those things.It's easy to make friends when you're surrounded by happy people though, and by the end of the night, I'd made some new, sure-to-be long-time friends in Paige and Christopher.
Venue: Glacier Raft Company / Hair & Makeup: Jeff Fulford & Lindsey Komenda / Florals: Mum's Flowers / Catering: Oso's Catering / Bakery: Montana Wildflour / DJ: Destination DJ / Rentals & Decor: Empress Tents & Events and With Love, Vintage Rentals / Couture: Rita Vinieris / Second Photographer: Porsche Jean Photography
Nikki contacted me several weeks before her family's trip to Montana to have some portraits done while they were here, as one does. Or as one should do anyway. She was going to be with her husband, their children, her parents, and her aunt and uncle. They weren't interested in anything super fancy, just to capture them on a rare occasion when they were all together. I arranged to meet them at their vacation rental on Lake Five in West Glacier and we made quick work of documenting their vacation. It's always such an honor to share these moments with these families.
As you might imagine people arrive in Northwestern Montana from all over the place. Tina and her husband were visiting from the Southeastern United States where the mountains look quite a bit different and the spring climate is dramatically different. No matter, they simply embraced the chilly weather, admired the snow on the mountains across Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park, and we had a wonderful morning.
Ashlyn & Patrick were recently engaged and in the area so naturally, they wanted some portraits taken in and around Glacier National Park. February weather and all. And like the vast majority of people that find themselves in front of my camera, they claimed to be totally helpless in photos. I had to vehemently disagree, however, as they absolutely nailed their session, especially the in-between moments where I simply take photos while not necessarily giving any direction at all. Just them being their natural selves. Which is actually a big pro tip. Just be yourself if you're having portraits taken, pretend the camera isn't there.
I've said it before, I'll say it again, and I'll keep saying it, I really do enjoy doing multi-family, multi-generational family portrait sessions. I get to meet people from all over the country and often get to witness their introduction to Glacier National Park and see their reactions that first time.
Often times as photographers we talk about capturing memories and moments for you and your family to look back on for years to come. Most of the time those memories are pretty straightforward and along the lines of "So happy we're spending time together in such a beautiful place like Glacier National Park!" However, sometimes they end up "Remember that time you took a rock to the back of the head?" While we took a short break to skip rocks allowing the kids a respite from posing and smiling, that is unfortunately what happened to the youngest male of the Highley family. Of course, I wouldn't be sharing this if he wasn't ultimately fine, but there was blood involved which was a first for me during a family portrait session. But now they have photos to commemorate the occasion, and all-in-all we had a really great time together!
The Blank family was traveling the country in their fifth wheel camper and hoping to grab some family portraits along with "school portraits" for their kids and I was of course more than happy to oblige. And while I don't think I'll ever get jaded about visiting Glacier all the time, It's really great to be able to visit the national park with "fresh eyes" each time I get to meet a family or couple there for portraits.
My evening with the Ritters was—as you'll see in the photos—very much maligned with August's signature wildfire smoke. What I think you'll also see is that West Glacier and Glacier National Park are still beautiful, and it did nothing to detract from the fun had. It's funny that parents of really young children often apologize if a toddler has a meltdown, won't focus, or is just hyper and crazy. But I'll be honest I think hyper toddlers are usually easier to deal with—and frankly more fun to photograph on the photographer's end even if the parents don't think so—than moody teenagers. All of that said, these older children were great sports and obviously found that there can be fun in family photos, and it was fantastic.
What do you do with pre-teen boys for family portraits? Promise them the opportunity to splash around and get dirty in their nice clothes at the end of the session! I enjoyed spending time with this family from Texas, discussing their large road trip that mirrored to some degree my own family's road trip that ended up with ultimately moving here to Montana. I can't say that the Zelisko family will do the same, but I do think they enjoyed their time spent here, and it was such a pleasure to document a tiny slice of that.
Matt Wetzler is an editorial, motorsport, portrait, and destination wedding photographer based in Whitefish, Montana.
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