Seriously, what more does one need to make you smile HUGE!?  I had the pleasure of photographing 4 kiddos for a set of portraits that were given to their grandparents for their 50th anniversary recently.  There were two sets of siblings and the sets are cousins.  They arrived at our meet-up spot near the waterfront and I couldn’t stop grinning!  They were sooooo stinking cute!  Not only cute, such personalities that just shine and keep you laughing.  Sure, I have no doubt they have their moments, but they were awesome kids for our little photo shoot!

We had a gorgeous and super sunny afternoon in the beautiful downtown are of my little New England seaside town.  The challenge I found myself pondering was “just how in the world am I going to make this work with 4 kids ranging from 18 months to nearly 12 years old??”.  I was thinking about everything from posing to making them laugh and smile to well, praying they don’t break down and cry!  The other challenge is that I fully realize that time is of the essence with kids.  We needed to work FAST!  So, we grabbed a few photos under a tree near the waterfront first… they started to loosen up and understand what was going on, that maybe it’s not all THAT bad being in front of the camera.  However, the direct sunlight was brutal and we needed to move toward shade.  Off we went, trucking toward a garden area with some trees.  We snapped a few more and kept moving until we decided to sneak inside a gate in front of an old, historic home in town.  Hey, what can I say?  I’m a photographer and we’re notorious for trespassing! icon_wink

The historic home was a soft color with a nice front stoop and best of all, shaded, so we had a nice backdrop for a few portraits.  However, soon enough the youngest was definitely getting restless so we headed toward the bribery point.  Yes, bribery.  I had prepared the parents:  we WILL get ice cream!!!  The kids were thrilled and once they started licking those cones, it was nothing but smiles.  Admittedly, I didn’t get ice cream and even I was all smiles.  They were so fun and messy and just adorable.  Funny, I’m sitting here grinning the whole time writing this for you, remember the time with them.  I’ve included a few photos from our session below.  I hope they bring a grin to your face too!

dsc7977

dsc8012

dsc8031-2

dsc8055-2

dsc8065

dsc8086

dsc8111

dsc8150

1733