A Family Session for Grandma | Beach Family Photographer — Family and Newborn Photography Long Beach, NY |Teresa Geraghty Photography

This recent session was so much fun to photograph. I first photographed this family for an outdoor sitter session just a few years ago. Shortly after the holidays, my client messaged me inquiring about a photo session for her mother, who was about to turn 70. She and her brothers wanted to gift their mom a photo session of the entire family together. Like most families, the last time they had family photos taken was at a wedding and the photos did not include the grandchildren. Their mother’s birthday was the perfect opportunity to update their family photos.

It is so important to document your own relationship with your children, but also their relationship with their extended family. The bonds between grandparent and grandchild are precious and to capture that bond is a gift not only fro the grandparent, but for the whole family to treasure as well. I can’t think of a more meaningful gift to commemorate a special occasion.

Extended family sessions tend to include a lot more traditional posed images than that which I would include in a traditional session. This is because most families are looking for updated and polished portraits of the whole family to gift to grandma and grandpa. Most grandparents prefer that one “all eyes on camera” shot. With this particular family, the children were so cooperative that we were able to capture not only those perfectly posed images, but many more natural and organic images as well.

My natural images are by no means unposed; I am directing your family throughout the whole session and doing so in a fun and interactive way so that I can capture images that display emotion and connection. Capturing these types of photos will require some sort of movement. I will ask you to do silly things and have fun, but that is what helps to create those super connected and warm images. Most of the time, you will be having so much fun that you will not even realize that I am posing you.

This family was a dream to photograph. They were active participants in the session, went with the flow and had fun. The grandchildren were so sweet and it was heartwarming to watch the way the older cousins interacted with their youngest cousin. It is clear that love really abounds in their family and the photos really demonstrate their bond. Here are a few of my favorites from the session.