Generations | Atlanta GA Extended Family Photographer

What better way to celebrate great grandma's 90th birthday than a weekend in her honor? The weekend included our photo shoot, lots of family time, and great food. The main event, a birthday brunch for Grandma, topped the weekend.

Shooting for this family made me remember my own Aunt Von, Donnie and Donna who were my closest relatives growing up. I treasure the photos I have of those sweet ladies, and I hope that this family will feel the same about my images. Besides doing a big group photo (in classic Marchet-style: casual, friendly, and colorful), I especially wanted a good portrait of Grandma. I think the most fun picture was the cousins group shot. Love it! 

Mother and Daughter | Alpharetta GA Portrait Photographer

I'm so glad had the opportunity to take some portraits of this mother-daughter pair, long-time friends and some of my very favorite people! We did the shoot in the morning--my favorite time to shoot--by a little pond I like for quick shoots. I love their clothing choices and how the setting and light made for such amazing color.

Hurray for Grandkids! | Suwanee GA Family Photographer

I love grandparents and grandkids shoots! There's something so wonderful about capturing those two generations, and this family was no exception. I especially love the group shot. It seems like some group shots are just so tough to arrange and pose, but this one came together very easily.

Posting my images on the blog just doesn't do justice to the clarity and size of the high res images. I cropped this image down to a 4x6 of the dog (who's smiling too!) and you can see how clear it is!

Family group images are becoming my signature "shot." I love getting one of all the siblings together!

Even though this was a grandpa and grandma/grandkids shoot, our clients made sure Grandpa got one shot with his daughter!

This is Jacob's favorite shot. Makes him smile!

It was such a sunny day that we used a umbrellas to create shade for each of the shots. I love the candid I caught of these two playing with one of the extra umbrellas.

Sometimes the best shots are when I catch my clients off guard. Lovin' this one!

Afternoon at the Park: Grandson and Grandma session

Wills Park is a perfect place to shoot for an active 3-year-old, and my client and her grandson look fabulous in the high-contrast afternoon light. I love all the little moments: the heads together in conversation, the glance backward before going down the slide, the kiss of obvious devotion, and the contemplative look against the wooden playground rails.

Is that SpongeBob on a stick? Yes, it's true. An ice cream treat complete with gumball eyes made the perfect end to our shoot and the perfect subject for a spot color treatment. And that was totally unplanned! The ice cream truck just showed up near the end of our session. Thanks, ice cream man! Oh yes, and thanks to my client who anticipated the spot color and brought the Tonka truck for her grandson to play and sit in. So great!

Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas Card

Our family spent Thanksgiving at my grandparents' home in South Carolina last week. While we were there, I did a very short portrait session so we could get the photo for their Christmas card done. Once I'd taken the photos, they chose their favorite pose and left the rest up to me. It's always nice when clients (or family) trust my judgment with a design. It leaves me room to experiment and get it just right. Well, they were thrilled with the design, and I've just heard they ordered the prints tonight. Merry Christmas, Grandma and Grandpa!

Extended Family Photo Shoot

We had a long list of shots to complete last Saturday during this big family shoot. Our subjects included two sets of grandparents, uncles, and a great-grandmother, not to mention the family and their little son. Some of you may recognize this cutie and his parents from a previous family shoot I did for them in May as well as the beautiful baby parts photo collage Jacob designed afterward. What a pleasure to go back for another shoot and a wonderful surprise to find our clients in traditional dress.

Everyone worked hard during this shoot. With large groups, posing and positioning is a challenge. We have to make sure the lighting is correct, people are looking (and hopefully smiling) at the camera, and of course we want to catch candid moments as well. We were all very tired after the shoot, but happy with the results. Our clients even invited us to share their evening meal with them. The food and company were great, and it felt like we were just another part of their family.

A Visit from Grandma and Grandpa

Marchet writes:

My son's friend had a visit from his grandparents last week, and we had a great "Grandma and Grandpa photo shoot" with all of them. I also took the opportunity to shoot some couple photos of the two adults, since they admitted they haven't had their photos taken for years. You honestly couldn't tell. They were so comfortable with each other and the camera; it made my job very easy. Bubbles? Sure, that would be fun. Oh, you've got a stick, little guy? Let's all grab a stick and dig!

I think most parents have photos taken of their kids for grandparents as well as for themselves. But many people don't think about a taking photos of kids with their grandparents. It's a fun idea and a whole lot more interesting than the extended family photo where only half of the kids are smiling or even looking at the camera.

By the way, I've finally found a fast way to watermark our photos, so that's a new feature you'll see on our blog. Thanks to Missy Saunders for allowing me to use her logo design on the watermark.