FAMILY PHOTOALBUM / EERIKA, HENRI, JOHANNA § HARRI / YYTERI, Finland

Such a lovely family! These photos were taken at Yyteri, one of the most well-known beaches in Finland. Johanna, the mother, is also a photographer. I was absolutely thrilled when sent me an email, asking if I would like to do a family photo session for her and family. I was honored and moved by her request.

We decided that I would drive to Yyteri to do the shoot because they live nearby and the place is simply amazing with its sandy dunes. As it turned out, the day was rainy and windy. In fact, it was already raining when I got there after three hours of driving. On the road I worried about the weather; I even called to find about the local weather. I was told that the sun would soon come out. When I arrived, however, the rain was still coming down. So, we spent half an hour in the golf club café and waited for the sun. The sun finally came out, though there was still a light rain. In spite of the water, we took our chances and began our session.

I was well-equipped with props: a chair, balloons, vintage cameras, an old gramophone, vinyl records, blankets, and some hand-made flags (by me). The whole family was committed to making a good photo shoot, so it was tremendously easy and fun to work with them. They were extremely relaxed, happy, and I could see that they are a very close-knit family. The session really didn’t feel like work – I felt like one of the family. They sat on the Kallo rocks and pretended to listen to the old gramophone and played a game on the beach. Erika kicked off her boots and ran into the water with her bare feet.