A Surprise Portrait Session for Lolo's Birthday at Hap Magee Ranch Park, Alamo, CANicole and Andrew | Family Portraits
What do you get your dad for his 70th birthday? - A Surprise Family Portrait Session!Every year I volunteer to photograph the annual fundraiser for my daughter's elementary school, donating a Family Portrait Session to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. This year's winners were Nicole and Andrew, an adorable couple with two of the cutest kiddos ever! Andrew immediately asked if I was available on the date they had planned to surprise his father with a big birthday weekend celebration. All of his siblings would be coming to town, so he asked if we could include the extended family. Of course I said YES! What an incredible opportunity to create timeless portraits of this man and his loving family.
The Big DayWhen the day of our shoot finally arrived, the grandparents, affectionately known as "Lolo and Lola", could not have been happier to have all of their kids and grandkids in one place creating beautiful pictures together. We decided to start with a big group family shot in case the little ones started to get antsy. I was SO impressed with the amazing job Nicole did in making sure everyone's outfits coordinated. The corals and blue denim together photographed beautifully against the greenery in the background. Just adorable!
Then we moved on to each sibling's immediate family, beginning with Nicole and Andrew. I had to laugh as the older kids were all smiles, but little Audrey wasn't so sure. When all the other relatives tried their best to get her to smile, she got a bit overwhelmed. Then all of the sudden, somebody hit the jackpot (I still have no idea what they were doing behind my back), and Audrey busted out the most adorable smiles!
Andrew's parents were so cute together, I just had to get some photos of the two of them by themselves. Here's one of my favorite tender moments.
Once we had photographed all the smaller family groups, it was time to focus on the kids. The cousin shot was a must-have on my list, especially with these sweet faces! Again, Audrey wasn't sure why she was getting so much attention from the peanut gallery and her smile disappeared. It was time to break out the Cheryl magic. I knelt down close to the kids and quietly started asking about their favorite toys and things to do. We discussed "My Little Pony" and "Frozen", and within minutes the smiles returned. (Oh, and the peanut gallery serenaded us with their rendition of "Let it Go...".)
Finally it was play time! I really wanted more candid shots of the kids and I love getting silly with them, so we headed to my favorite group of trees and played a game of "Peek-a-Boo". Audrey finally let loose with her belly laughs and here is what we got...
I also took this time to take individual portraits of all the kids as the light was just perfect.
Some of my favorite pictures from this session are the ones taken in those "in-between" moments. Posed pictures are important, but I can almost guarantee that right after I say, "Ok, we got it!", someone says or does something funny and we get great moments like these...
Then it was "Girl Time". All the girls decided they should get a picture with Lola. So first we did the posed shot...
...and then came the "Lola Show". Lola decided it was time to have some fun, and I think the girls were just as surprised as I was!
On our way out of the park, we stopped at the playground for more candid moments. Some of my favorites!
Nicole and Andrew's family were such a pleasure to work with. They ended up getting a beautiful wall portrait of the whole family to have as a remembrance of Lolo's special day. Happy Birthday Lolo! Do you have a special occasion coming up?Special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, and graduations are the perfect time to schedule an Extended Family Portrait Session. Not only will you come away with beautiful portraits of your immediate family, but you'll also have timeless keepsakes of your extended family to pass on from generation to generation.
San Francisco Bay Area Family Portrait Photography I hope you enjoy this San Francisco Bay Area Family Portrait photography provided by Cheryl Bigman Photography specializing in Portraits of Families and Children throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Service Area Information Cheryl Bigman Photography offers Photography of Families and Children throughout the San Francisco Bay Area including but not limited to the Tri-Valley and Contra Costa areas of Lafayette, Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon, Pleasanton, Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco, San Mateo, Burlingame, Redwood City on the Peninsula, Marin County in the North Bay, and the South Bay.
Keywords:
Families & Kids
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