Little Moments: A Spontaneous Family Reunion Photoshoot
Our lives have the tendency to push and pull us in all sorts of directions. It’s only natural that brothers, sisters, children, and parents may end up in different states doing all sorts of different things. We can usually count on the big holidays to bring everyone together, but as we all know these holidays often turn into lots of errands or sitting in traffic. By the time we’ve had a moment to catch up with our loved ones, it’s already over.
Every now and then, however, the stars align and we find ourselves in each other’s company without the stress of a larger commitment. Desiree saw that such a moment was upon her and seized it by planning a spontaneous family reunion photoshoot.
There were fourteen people spanning three generations, including five grandchildren between the ages of nine months and five years. The energy in the grandparents’ home was exctitable — even among the adult children there was a sort of youthful buzzing and silliness in the air (those of you with siblings know what I mean).
My introduction to the grandchildren was nothing short of unforgettable. Explaining the camera parts to an inquisitive five-year-old while I set up really made us all feel comfortable with one another right at the jump. One can’t discount the importance of building rapport with the little ones; After all, I’d be counting on them to keep their eyes on the camera in a few minutes.
But, as I’d soon remember, it’s what happens when nobody is looking at the camera that makes some of the most memorable photographs: the playful little moments shared between cousins who haven’t seen each other in some time, or the candid looks of pure adoration shared between grandparent and grandchild.
It was for this reason that I only briefly conducted a traditional family photoshoot at the beginning, before suggesting we take a walk together. The weather was beautiful and I wanted to capture more of these little, unprompted moments between them.
Here I stepped back and photographed it all happening naturally. The siblings caught up; the children held hands with their grandparents and smelled flowers; the babies stared in wonder at all that was going on around them. Of course we stopped at the end of the block to take some nice portraits with views overlooking the Hudson River as well.
By the time we got back to the house, we were reaching golden hour and decided to do a few more family shots in the backyard before calling it a day. The kids were pretty wiped, but never too wiped for popsicles! (A very powerful motivational tool).
Of course a photoshoot involving children rarely avoids the occasional bout of tears (not included here for obvious reasons). But frankly, even the less-than-perfect photos taken that day still had a certain je ne sais quoi that felt very memorable and natural. I suspect that over the years to come, everyone will enjoy those photos just as much as the ones that went according to plan.
By the end, I was acutely aware of what a special opportunity this had been for this family: for the stars to have aligned perfectly and for them to have captured it in the moment.
