Mom & DadTOG’s Event ~ Mukilteo Lighthouse

This was the first Mom & DadTOG’s event this year. I’m a bit late in posting (it’s been a busy sunny spring), but I wanted to share the photos with you all. We started out this year’s events at the beautiful Mukilteo Lighthouse. The turnout was great!! Moms, dads, aspiring photographers, and professional photographers all showed up. It was a wonderful mix of creative minds. As you can see from the photos, the kids had a fun time too! It was an amazingly warm April day in Mukilteo. I had to break out the sunscreen…in April…in Washington State…I know!!  The kids were romping around in their summer clothes. It was perfect. We started the shoot with an impromptu picnic of Ivar’s fish and chips for energy.  We ended up staying for over 3 hours, which meant we had the chance to shoot as the light slowly changed.

When we first arrived, it was so sunny that we had to search for shade amongst the buildings. You can see in the lighthouse photos just how strong the sun was. The sun was harsh and the shadows were deep. After an hour or so of playing in the grassy shade, we headed down to the beach just as the much anticipated (and my favorite) golden hour was about to arrive. We played with positioning the kids so that the light was behind them for some soft light, but we also tried turning them so that the light was lighting up their little faces for a more dramatic look.

Once the sun had sunk behind low enough, we once again changed lighting styles. One of the photographer’s attending, Matisse, pulled out her flash and little soft box for an impromptu tutorial on using flashes to taking portraits with colorful sunsets.

By the time we called the evening done, there wasn’t a lick of sun in the sky. My children happily ate ice cream as a treat for being so patient at this long shoot!

It was a great start to the year! I’m looking forward to the next Mom & DadTOG’s shoot. To see where the next couple will be, check out my blog post with the dates and times.