FAMILY SHOOTS-The MONEY SHOT is usually Spontaneous!!

I'm spending Mothers Day shooting Family Portraits at the Arcadia Gardens Retirement Hotel. So I thought it would be good to check out the Italian Veranda Area they want me to use with a test shoot.  So I enlisted my Niece, her husband and their two adorable children.  My Pappa lives there and we wanted him to also be in the shot.  Getting Mike Di Domenico to pose for pictures is like getting kids to sit still in a park.  But he loves his great grand kids, Alexander & Bella so we got him for a few shots.

I know that most parents like the perfectly posed picture.  But for me the money shot is usually what happens naturally when people get together and just are!  Case in point. the way a 6 year old reacts to his baby sisters teething stage. Or how about a Grandfather who only lights up when his 8 month old great grand daughter flashes her baby blues at him.

This was fun and natural.  It makes me enjoy many family even more than I already do. Don't get me wrong I think posing for the camera can be fantastic.

But capturing the moments in between the "say cheese"  can really be priceless. Especially when kids are involved.

I think one of my favorite shots in this shoot came when I asked my niece Heidi to relax her head on her husband Chris's head.  The always observant Alexander took a cue from mom and dad, and did the same.  So adorable!

Bella, still trying to get her shoe to help with the teething process, was in her own world.  But honestly they will always remember what she was going thru at this moment when looking at these images.  

 

 And so our shoot comes to an end, but not before we have those warm fuzzy feelings  courtesy of the Avalos Family.

Have a truly blessed MOTHERS DAY from Debra Snell Photography!!  Love Ya Heidi!