Michele, Per, Emil & Marcus’s Family Shoot / Karlstad / Sweden

It always feels so good to be back in Sweden!  And doing photo shoots here offers a different kind of softer, more subdued light to South Africa’s harsh summer sun.

Michele is South African, and her husband Per is Swedish and they live in Sweden with their 2 sons, Emil & Marcus, and their furry child, Timmy.  Emil and Marcus were born in South Africa, and grew up in Sweden.  With Per working in the Engineering industry, they have also lived in various parts of the world, so their sons have been blessed being exposed to so many new cultures and experiences.  Michele has always spoken English to the boys, and Per has spoken Swedish, so they are fully bilingual.

I photographed their family about 9 years ago in Sweden! And Michele and I have stayed in contact and built up a lovely friendship over the years.  Same nationalities have a tendency to be drawn together in a foreign country, and South African’s, been the warm flock that we are, are pulled together like magnets. I get to photograph many families, and each one with a different dynamic.  Michele and Per are completely dedicated to Emil and Marcus, and their family unit is tight. Michele was telling me that most dinners when they are all home, they spend chatting and laughing  around the dinner table long after dinner is finished.  And that is pretty amazing.

Saturday evening I met up with them at my favourite park in Karlstad called Skutberget, on Lake Vänern, Sweden’s largest freshwater lake. It’s so massive, it actually looks like an ocean!  Towards the end of the shoot, we added in a touch of South Africa! These are some of my favourites from their session.