As a Carlisle family portrait photographer, I get to explore all different types of locations across Central Pennylvania and beyond! During this extended family photo session, we visited Yellow Breeches, Kings Gap Farm & King’s Gap Mansion.
Why Rhinehart Photography?
Sysha shares, “The number one thing I appreciate about working with you, Lisa, is how you take the time to clearly communicate with and understand everyone. You definitely put everyone at ease and how you made us all laugh. You provide just enough structure to keep everyone on schedule, but you’re also super adaptive and open to spontaneous ideas. What sets you apart from other photographers is how you intuitively showcase what makes each family and group dynamic unique in surprising and creative ways.”
I love just blending in with the group (I was barefoot and in the water myself here, haha)! I also love showing emotion and action, here I use a slow shutter speed to capture the kids energy and motion:
Making a Splash at Family Gatherings
Sysha shares, “My dad lives in Texas, my brother and his family are in Virginia, while the rest of us are here in Central Pennsylvania. We try to get together a few times a year, primarily for holidays and birthdays. The most meaningful interactions we have as a family come about as we are reminiscing about funny memories over family dinners or going on outings with the kids and observing their hilarious interactions, complete randomness, and boundless energy.”
Here is some of that energy on display!
Happy Kids
There were so many smiles during this session. I love being a Carlisle family portrait photographer. 🙂
Carlisle Family Portrait Photographer
Sysha shares, “The kids especially like water play, so we knew beautiful Yellow Breeches would be a fitting setting and, with its proximity to the farm, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get pictures there.”
While lifestyle photography was our main focus, I did make sure to get several portraits along the way, the entire group, each individual family, each kid and couple, and all of the grandkids of course.
Kings Gap Farm
Scott shares, “I leaned heavily on my daughter Sysha’s judgment for locations. She chose locations that would provide opportunities for the cousins to play and for the adults to interact. Those places included a nearby creek and Kings Gap Farm owned by Sysha and her husband Alex.”
Kings Gap Farm is a small family farm that specializes in pumpkins, flowers, and veggies. They also have a roadside stand half a mile from the Kings Gap Environmental Education Center entrance.
Bring Your Pets!
I love when families choose to include their pets in their family session. After all, pets are part of the family too!
Here is my most popular blog post on Google right now, 12 Tips for Including Dogs in Family Portraits, if you are interested, haha!
Tractor Time!
I hopped on the flatbed with the rest of the family!
Sysha smiled, “Alex constructed the two greenhouses and the parking lot for our operation. He’s a project person who’s always thinking of the next step forward and working the long and hard hours to get there.”
Flatbed Ride
Ruffy had the best time riding along on the flatbed. Just look at his smile. 🙂
Cousin Love!
Scott shares, “I learned and appreciated the importance and connectedness that families give each other from my upbringing. Kristina and I have reinforced that feeling among our children and grandchildren. Those memories with my brothers and sisters and our cousins and our collective children are always joyous events with happy stories of past encounters with each other. “
These cousins will have some great memories to reminisce about when they are older!
A Relaxing Ride
Love this photo of the feet hanging off the edge of the flatbed with the grass and fields below. I loved the chance to slow my shutter speed a bit to capture that motion blur.
Farm Life through my Lenses!
I have several different lenses at my disposal that I kept in my handy backpack throughout my shoot. Here I’m using a telephoto zoom lens, so you can see all of the detail on the hen, without being distracted by the background:
Fun & Games on the Farm
Kings Gap Farm requires a lot of hard work to maintain on the part of the Surcica family, but there’s always time to play (like on this giant handmade seesaw!). The boys had so much fun.
Swing Time
During lifestyle family sessions, I always make sure to capture the kids in their natural elements. I love this photo of her having fun and swinging. 🙂
Goat love!
It doesn’t get much sweeter than this:
A Man of Many Talents
Alex and I worked together on “macro photography” when Alex was working for Penn State several years ago. He created the Digital Museam of Natural History which now has an impressive 58,000 followers! His photography is incredible, check it out here.
Veggie Enthusiasm
Sysha shares, “One cool thing about the greenhouses was how the kids were so enthusiastic about all the veggies, eating tomatoes off the vine and zooming around to find the biggest zucchini. Who needs candy when you have a greenhouse full of veggie surprises, haha! I’m pretty sure Leo took a few rogue bites of under-ripe squash in his enthusiasm.”
Praying Mantis!!
Sysha shares, “We had an explosion of praying mantises in and around the greenhouses over the summer. It was fun to watch them grow from week-to-week. I love seeing them reach and leap to travel from one plant to another and how they turn their heads to look at you. In fact, they’re *still* out in our greenhouses, much bigger now, hanging out on our chrysanthemums and popping out when customers least suspect it, haha!”
A praying mantis! A sign of a very healthy farm, for sure!
Follow the Leader
I always love the chance to take photos from a creative angle like this one here where I was photographing from below:
The Gang’s All Here!
Scott shares, “My nuclear family lives in fragments around the country. My son Pete and his family live in Roanoke, Virginia. My daughter Sysha’s family lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Pete and Sysha’s mom – Kristina lives in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania and I live in Austin, Texas. We come together for family gatherings during holidays such as Independence Day which was the calendar excuse for the gathering for this photoshoot.”
Wild and Free
Scott shares, “As I grew up my mother made sure all such events were recorded in photos – and as the get-togethers build over the years those photos and recollections of past gatherings produce a family sense of togetherness and shared experience. The inspiration of this occasion recorded by Lisa Rhinehart was to find a way to make these family gatherings indelible in the family consciousness.”
He continues, “As the get-togethers build over the years the younger children begin to identify with each other – by measuring each other’s physical, emotional, and intellectual growth over the years and happily share their stories from past adventures or stories about life between family gatherings.”
Shared Experiences
Scott says, “Every embarrassing tale of growing-up or touching tale of heartfelt talks between us becomes food for further discussion at each new gathering. The strength of our family life comes from our shared experience over the years.”
I love this photo of all the cousins together looking out into Kings Gap.
Irot Family Slideshow!
See even more photos from the Irot family lifestyle session set to music in the slideshow below!
Hungry for More?
- See more family photos here
- Check out another family lifestyle session here
- Read more about booking a family lifestyle session here
4 thoughts on “Carlisle Family Portrait Photographer: Irot Family”
I adore the slideshow & music!! Thank you Lisa!!!! We will cherish these.
Awww so glad!! I had so much fun working with you guys!!
Gleaming photography nicely done by whatever means! Thank you. I felt pulled into many of family pictures and sensed the fun of the togetherness. Sysha seems motivational within this effort and I appreciated many of her observations.
Also, this is the first time I have seen any pics of the farm and it follows many of Scott’s detailed descriptions made during our phone calls over the years.
Brother Scott once had a penchant for photography, too; and, one year gifted pictures inciteful of the personalities he claimed for his brothers and sisters, mine Scott claimed was ‘austere’. But that’s OK, Scott. Love to you all.
Thank you so much, Bruce! I apologise for only just now seeing this very articulate and heartfelt comment! I’m so glad you felt drawn emotionally and visually by these photos– that is my #1 goal! I love that it’s allowing you to do this from a distance. Thank you so much for sharing!