There’s something about the holiday season that gives me all the feels, so I was extra excited when Jessica reached out to me regarding an extended family session. She and her husband, Stephen, have three children, all of whom were born in Italy. They spent the last few years stationed there and because of the pandemic, their extended family hasn’t been together in over three years. In fact, Stephen’s parents hadn’t even met two of their grandkids in person! Now that they’re back in the US, they planned for their whole family to be together for Thanksgiving. And to commemorate the occasion, they wanted to have family pictures done. Of course I was in!

Extended Family Session at the Bachechi Center

If you’ve spent any time in Albuquerque, you know that we almost always have blue skies and sunshine. Our weather is fairly mild and because of this, I rarely have to postpone sessions due to weather. Unfortunately, the day before Thanksgiving was an unusual weather day. We met the Lewises at Elena Gallegos in the rain with the forecast showing clear skies at the start of their session. Looking out our car windows, there was no way it was going to clear any time soon. We decided to postpone for later that afternoon when it was supposed to be better.

Within an hour or so of getting home, the sun came out and the sky turned blue. I was feeling good about our afternoon session! However, when we got in our car to go back to Elena Gallegos, it started hailing! Thankfully, the weather was isolated to the foothills, so we made the last minute decision to go to the Bachechi Center instead. I’ve been wanting to shoot here for a few months now, so I was excited about the change. We were greeted by the sun and a beautiful sky when we arrived.

It was fun to see the interaction between family members who hadn’t seen each other in so long. The grandparents were thrilled to have everyone together and I just love the candid, snuggly pictures we got of them with the kids. Jason and Melissa are without a doubt a super fun aunt and uncle duo. They brought their A game and never failed to make the kids laugh. Funny faces, check. Silly noises, check. Playing games, check. They made my job easy!

I’m so happy for the Lewis family and am thankful that my job allows me to capture such beautiful moments for families. Extended family sessions are some of my favorite sessions to shoot, so please reach out to me if you’d like one. I’d love to capture this special time for your family too!

Bonus: Holiday Freebie!

If you aren’t ready to book a full family shoot but want to capture some holiday memories on your own, check out my free guide to Capturing the Holiday Magic with Your Family. Inside you’ll find some practical tips that will help this year’s memories last for many years to come.