The Raffle Shoot :)

Good morning!

I titled this entry "the raffle shoot" because these adorable kids won their photo session at the C.A.G. Fun Run this year! It was the cutest thing...they were announcing the winners of each raffle prize, and when they called the Bella Notte Photography photo session prize winner, I heard the name and wasn't sure who it was. Then I see this teensy tiny little girl running up with her mom, to claim her prize! :) I was so excited-this little girl and her three siblings had been such enthusiastic and precious little participants in the Fun Run, and now I had the chance to take their photos! I was joking with my husband that they were the ones I took the most photos of DURING the Fun Run, before I even knew them, because they were so darn cute! And now I had the chance to have a real session with them! Too perfect :)

Another neat part of this photo session was that my husband and I are good friends with some family members of theirs. We went out to their land in a nearby town, last weekend, and enjoyed beautiful weather as we explored acres upon acres of beautiful country! Their family lives in an gorgeous area and while exploring their property we saw their sheep farm, a huge blackberry patch (they're grown organically so we ate them right off the plant--delicious!), some little deer, peacocks, their old treehouse, and other fun things. When the kids arrived, it was obvious they were right at home, and it was such a blast to run around with them and capture them as they played together. Here are a few samples of the shoot; you can see more on my Facebook fanpage, or on my main site.

I saw this wheelbarrow sitting in the grass and knew I HAD to use it for photos. It was perfect! This little champ was a great sport, too--a total natural, as you can see :)

I told the littlest one to put her hands on her lap "like this," which she did, but also added in a cute little shoulder shrug, which I love! :)

The kids were pretty excited when I suggested we take some photos on top of their cool red SUV. The littlest one's expression is again, priceless! Such beautiful children.

Having fun being bounced by big brother and sisters!

They got a bit goofy in the woods, but it was great :) I think photos often look better when they're not "perfectly posed;" I'd rather the kids wear their true expressions and let their personalities shine, rather than the photo look fake or forced. This one shows that little one was getting a little tired of photos....who would blame her? But she still looks cute :)

Like I mentioned before, this one was such a natural. His mom was chuckling and shaking her head at his funny ability to make a perfect smile and pose for photos. He loved it! I caught him candid at times, too, though, as you can see above--he's cute either way :)

Hope you enjoyed the post! I put all black and white photos on this post, I realize....I do love my black and white :) Something about it just makes photos look so classic.  See the following post to see more photos of the gorgeous countryside where I took these photos! :)

Cait