At this chilly (and huge) 19-person family photoshoot, we had two high school seniors!
What an exciting time for the family! We made sure to get a lot of photos of seniors Morgan and Nick since two of the grandchildren won’t end up as seniors at the same time again!
But, let’s back up to how we booked the shoot first!
An old high school friend and tennis teammate, Jessica, posted she was looking for a photographer in the St. Louis area. Here’s a shot of that glorious high school time in our lives —
I am in the back right next to the coach. Jessica is in the middle row, the third from the left.
I reached out to her and she explained the ENTIRE family was getting together the very last weekend in December. And they were a fun bunch! Here’s proof:
We booked the shoot over the phone when it was an unnaturally warm August day. I don’t know if we were hoping to have a warm winter like last year, but come the day of the shoot 4 months later … it was freezing. Single digits freezing. But, we were determined! Plus, it helps that everyone was such a good sport!
I was told the last time the entire family got together to take pictures — Gino and Reese weren’t even born! Since Reese is so little, I could see that — but Gino is a big guy now!!
Since it was so cold, and we had kiddos with us, we huddled together in the basement for warmth, and I took every family “unit” out one at a time. They were pretty tickled at the word “unit.” There’s just something about it that makes people giggle.
So, let’s break down our “units!” First, the two that started it all — Greg & Coleen! They’ve been married for nearly 50 years (47 to be exact)!
They were tickled pink about the photoshoot, and we made sure to get lots of photos of them with all of their grandbabies, even though most of them aren’t “babies” anymore. I always tell my oldest daughter she will always be my “baby,” and I’m sure the same goes for the grandkids!
Then, of course, Jessica and her unit — Tyler & Reese. Reese was a big fan of waving at the camera!
Little Reese would start laughing and then make crying sounds. At one point I wasn’t sure if she was elated or devastated. Jessica told me it was a “fine line.” Haha!
Then we have Jon, Julie, Genevieve, Grace, Gabrielle & Gino! I love how all of their children have “G” names, that’s so precious — just like them!
I kept telling everyone to pretend it wasn’t freezing! I think it worked pretty well.
Next, we have the family of one of our seniors! Meet Jen, Dan, Nick & Katie! Nick made sure to bring a shirt change so we could snap a couple more of him for some senior pics!
And our last unit to introduce you to is Jeff, Amy, Morgan & Drew! At one point, poor Drew didn’t think he had a good smile, but that wasn’t true!! Hopefully he can see these photos and see what a good smiler he is! Great job, Drew!
The entire family was so sweet. Every time we’d go inside to warm up, several of them would offer me coffee. My favorite was when Greg said he’d top it off with a little Bailey’s. Ha!
Thanks for an amazing time, Ribaudo clan!
Make sure to follow Kansas City Photography on Facebook!