Seneviratne Family | Portraits at the Olympic Sculpture Park

I first met the Seneviratnes while photographing their daughter Catherine’s rehearsal dinner. Catherine and I knew each other from Wedding Bee. We were both Seattle bloggers–she was Mrs. Joey and I was Mrs. Cherry Pie– but she was actually married in Seattle. I photographed her awesome wedding reception at the Lake Union Cafe while building my portfolio.

I thought that’d be the last I’d see of Catherine through my lens for a bit, but she contacted me shortly after her wedding to ask if I’d take some family portraits. Her family didn’t have the chance to pose for formals with her primary photographer at the wedding, but she told me that they enjoyed the candid portraits I’d taken so much that they wanted to have more. (Thanks, guys!!) Plus, the timing was perfect– Catherine’s sister and her husband were briefly visiting Seattle from Italy prior to his next military deployment. I’m so flattered that they took time out of their visit to have photos with the whole family together.

The Seneviratne family had their pictures taken at Seattle’s Olympic Sculpture Park, which is one of the city’s most versatile location for portraits. I mean, there’s a grassy knoll, several beaches, a (seasonal) rose garden, a fountain, tons of abstract sculptures, railways and cityscapes all stretched through a lovely landscaped layout. What more can you ask for?

In our hour-long session we barely meandered through a quarter of the park and I still found new locations to photograph.

Here’s Catherine’s sister and her husband. He was a super stoic soldier, and a tough guy to get to crack a smile. That’s why I loved him!

Catherine and her sister were cute and affectionate with their mother, while the guys all posed like they were from GQ. Love. It.

We had a lot of fun using this sculpture, “Wake,” for different kinds of framing, posing, and backdrops.

At the end of the day, though, I think this sculpture below (Untitled) was my favorite. It’s a cluster of seating elements that look normal but are really quite unique. The double concrete bench (described in the brochure as “awkward,” though I’m not sure why) sits next to a plastic lawn chair and cardboard bankers box… except that both are, in fact, cast in bronze. It makes for a really cool multi-level group shot.

Thanks for the great shoot, guys! I’m so happy you thought of me, and it was wonderful to see you again.