There is something so special about making annual family photos around your Nantucket vacation part of your family tradition. You get to return to a place you love, slow down for an evening, and document the people you love most exactly as they are in that season of life.

For this family, that tradition has been going for six years. Six years of annual family photos! 

Every session has taken place in Madaket, creating something even more meaningful than a collection of beautiful photographs. 

I’ve gotten to witness and document their family grow year after year.

When you book photos every single year, you don’t just get updated pictures to print or post. You create a visual storybook of the life you’re building together.

This was year one (just wait until you see the comparison photos at the end of this post!)

Why annual family photos around your Nantucket vacation matter:

The most beautiful part of photographing a family year after year is getting to see the little changes that are so easy to miss in everyday life.

• The baby who is becoming a busy little kid
• Siblings who suddenly look so much older!!
• Personalities that become more defined each year
• The way parents settle into each new season of parenthood
• The tiny details you never want to forget

Those are the changes that are so easy to miss in the swing of every day life. You’re busy doing school drop offs while trying to make a work meeting on time… and your kiddo is growing up in the middle of all that life. When you pause and see the growth in yearly photos, you really get to appreciate the magic of this season of life.

Here is year two for this family!

When we photograph in Nantucket, we let the beach be part of the story!

I especially love that this family chose the same location for all their photos. It really allows the backdrop to create this consistent thread through al the years.

Some of my favorite images from these sessions are the ones where everyone is simply enjoying being together.

The kids running toward the waves. Siblings wrapped up in a hug. A little one walking the dog along the sand. Parents enjoying a quiet moment together while the sun glows behind them. These are the moments you look back on in 5 or 10 years and are so happy you got them captured.

That is what I love most about family photography on Nantucket. We can create beautiful portraits while still leaving room for the moments that happen naturally.

Year Three (look how much older the kids look already!):

Each year your kids grow older, and experience more and more life.

Imagine having a catalog of that growth to display on your walls or make into books for grandparents.

This is why I love annual family photos.

I always feel so honored when families plan their Summer vacation, and reach out to me the minute the hotel is booked. Building in a photography experience to your trip is such a good investment. And I am so honored to have built a relationship with so many beautiful people. And each year, when I get new families reaching out, I get excited to start their journey of Summer memories captured here on the Island.

Check out Year Four!!

Think back to the first year this family was in front of my camera.

New baby! Mama was postpartum, and big brother was toddling around the sand. They were in the thick of the “little kid” trenches, and now?? They have two school age children who have their own interests and friends.

They say that watching kids grow happens in the blink of an eye. My job as a Nantucket family photographer is to step into that moment and freeze it for you.

That’s why Annual family photos matter so much.

Here’s year five!

This year, I met up with their family again at Madaket for their most recent session.

The kids were older. The pup wasn’t quite as frisky as year one. And their life had completely evolved from that first Summer on the beach six years ago.

Every year you commit to annual family photos, is a year you say yes to documenting your family’s story. This is your kid’s childhood, yes. But it’s also your experience as a parent. It’s the days that are going by in a blur. The ones that you will long for one day when the kids are out of the house.

I think it’s really easy to look back and spot the good old days. But if you know you’re living in them now, consider this your sign to document it all so you never forget.

Their most recent session, year six:

Watch Their Family Grow Over 6 Years of Annual Family Photos!

If you want to see another family session at this same beach, click here! I have another blog post at Madaket!