Michelle Bellofatto Photography

Moren Family at the beach

Meet my cousin Sara and her family.  Recently, we scheduled a casual mini shoot at the beach while she was in town visiting from Texas.  The funny thing is, on my way to meet them, I missed my exit and ended up stuck in traffic trying to get to the beach.  Sigh.

Meanwhile, Sara informed me the kids had already made themselves at home at the beach by getting wet and sandy.  Of course this added to my stress level because I know us mother's like to at least have a few good pix of our kids while they're still clean.  :p

From the looks of these pictures, I would say the Moren family got their daily dose of exercise.  I was literally smiling while editing.  There's just something about the beach that brings out the kid in us all.

Zoey :: 1 Years Old

The last time I photographed this adorable one year old she was just 11 days old.  And wow, what a difference a year makes.  Now Zoey is full of life and smiles.  She even gets a little noisy at times when she wants something.  I found myself yelling along with her a few times.  Hehe.

Is anyone else jealous of Zoey's perfect toddler perm?  I mean really.  How many 1 year olds do you know with hair like hers.  Those curls look like they were perfected in the salon. 

This was my 4th photo shoot with the Harmon family.  I photographed them as newlywed's then came the maternity shoot then of course Zoey's newborn pix and now the celebration of Zoey's 1st birthday. 

Zoey's mom and dad love being parents so much that they are planning to have a BIG family.  It's easy to see they make beautiful babies!

Happy 1st birthday sweet Zoey!!  I will be coming to babysit you very soon.  I can't wait to pinch your chubby cheeks and thighs and give you lots of kisses.  xo

Zoey Then: 11 Days Old

 

Zoey Now

 

Taylor Family | At Home in Connecticut

Let me start by saying I'm emotionally invested in this family.  It's been four years since our first meeting at a mall in Connecticut.  Us mom's on the go need our Starbucks from time to time and that is where we found each other.  :)  A blessing indeed.

When I arrived at the Taylor house I was not only excited to see the little people, but also elated to see the sun shining with no threat of rain.  I stepped into their beautiful home and was immediately greeted by their new black lab.  Not many people know this about me, but I get a bit nervous around dogs.  So we get in the door and I'm chatting (trying) with the kids, Sandra leaves the room and the dog begins to growl at me.  My first thought was, will the kids be able to protect me from this dog.  Hehe.  It makes me laugh now imagining these three little children saving me from their happy, playful, sometimes growling puppy. 

I really could ramble on and on about how much I adore the Taylor family, but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Notice the teeth on that dog.  Very scary.  LOL.

This one cracks me up!

The family photo started like this.... (love everyone's reaction to the unhappy family member)

Then they turned it into this!

And this!  :)

Playing in Dad's Jeep.

Things I L.O.V.E about this family:

• Addy's Brooke Shield's like eyebrows.
• That Roni always has a bruise on his head everytime I see him.  A sign of a "real" boy.
• Oldest son "E" reminds me so much of my Mason in personality.  Sweet, sweet, sweet.
• Love the shots of Sandra playing with her children.
• The dog shots with the children and how you just see a tail leaving the frame.

It all happened on a rainy Friday with the Faherty Fam

It's funny, every time I visit the east coast to work, I undoubtedly become obsessed with the weather.  On this particularly dreary summers day, I had planned to meet the Faherty fam at a beautiful park in Connecticut. 

In came plan B.  The weather was dark and drizzly so we moved our location to their home.  This way we could shoot indoors if needed.  Turns out we were indoors for a majority of the time shooting under the difficult conditions inside and out.  I'm not a big fan of the flash so I chose to shoot at a higher ISO and tried, whenever possible to get the kids near a window. 

We managed to make it outdoors a few times and thankfully we were blessed with a few minutes of sunshine right at the end of our shoot.

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting this fun family for what became our third family photoshoot.  The kids were sweet, curious, energetic and I could have literally eaten them up!  Precious little beings.

Also loved how fuss-free mom was when it came to having her family photographed outdoors in the midst of "scattered" thunderstorms.  A little rain never hurt anyone, right?

Ryan and Carol, thank you, thank you, thank you for having me over to your home once again.

Enjoy your sneak peek.  Your proofs will be ready very soon!

xo for the kiddos.

L.O.V.E. these two shots!

For this one we locked the kids inside and I stood under the porch awning to captue them through the glass door.

Back indoors....

The Faherty fam is so popular in their neighborhood.  While we were outdoors the neighbors were arriving home and the kids were being offered popsicles and treats right in the middle of our shoot!  Who wouldn't love these adorable kiddos?

Duong Family | A Spring Mini Shoot

I was introduced to the Duong family on the day of our shoot.  We did back-to-back mini shoots with the Tran family in which they are related. 

These guys were too much fun.  You can see by the images that they are fun people!  The boys were so relaxed and ready to try anything.

I'm adding this first image to my "favs" list. 

How gorgeous is Mom?!  Love the way dad is slyly admiring her from the corner of his eye.

The MEN.

Great meeting you Duong Fam!!  Thanks for putting up with me forgetting your boy's names.  Hehe.  Your proofs will be ready very soon.

Tran Family | A Spring Mini Shoot

It's always an honor whenever I get asked to photograph a family.  All the better when that family has a child in my son's class.  Mason and "S" have been in the same class since Kindergarten.  They are starting to look like "big" kids now.  Which kind of makes us mom's a little sad, but we know at some point we have to let them grow up. 

This sneak peek features a few of my favs from our Mini Shoot.  If you've looked around my blog you've probably noticed I post a lot of "candid" images.  I do always take a posed family image when I photograph families, but I just like images best when they capture the natural interactions of people they way they are at that moment.

Enjoy  your sneak Sean & Phuong.  I'll have the rest of your images ready very soon!

Family Time at the Park | A Spring Mini Shoot

I first met this fab family when the little guy was just 10 days old.  He was a captivating baby.  So alert and the eyes on that child were just amazing.  Still are.  Sparkly blue like his mom's. 

Thought it would be fun to post this mini sneak peek on Mother's Day.  This is for you Karen!  Happy Mother's Day.  xo

Karen's mom used to read this book to her when she was a little girl.  I love that she brought it with her.

3 Beautiful People | A Spring Mini Shoot

Kiana and I met recently when we discovered we were neighbors.  I always think it's kind of strange how some personalities just click instantly and before you know it you could be telling a perfect stranger the inner details of your life.  At least that's what happened when I met Kiana. 

Aside from having amazing bone structure, Kiana also has two fantastic kids who like to have playdates with my one kid.  What a bonus!

Enough said, I must share.  Candid, photojournalistic images are really my favorite thing.  You'll probably notice that most of the images on my blog are of that nature.  Why, because they are my favorite!  Tee-hee.

Here goes...

Well hello gorgeous!

Morris Family | A Spring Mini Shoot

We planned to meet early on a Saturday morning.  It was 8AM to be exact.  I'm definitely not a morning person, but I was motivated by the morning light. 

I'm not going to lie, In the back of my mind I thought about the possibility of being fashionably late for the shoot.  A few extra minutes under the covers on a Saturday morning was tempting.  Besides, I was almost positive the Morris family of five would be late.  Guess what, they were on time and so was I. 

My fear of squinting eyes quickly dissipated when I saw the morning sky.  It was covered in a blanket (poetry, right?) of clouds.  The field was a perfect backdrop for our Spring Mini Shoot!

I've had the pleasure of photographing the Morris family three times now.  Kai and Megan have their hands full with three active boys, but it's obvious their parental love is overflowing.

I have a soft spot for this candid image.  It's a new favorite.  I had dad drop off the youngest son and then high-tail it out of there.  Things don't always go as planned, but I'm rather fond of how this one turned out.

Love the way Kai and Megan are looking at each other in this family shot.

 

Phung Family | At Home

My friend Chi and I met about a year ago by way of our kids.  Her son came over to our table while we were painting ceramics.  Our son's hit it off immediately and before we knew it we were on our way to a playdate together. 

Everyone in Chi's family is just plain sweet.  They are good, kind-hearted people. 

On the day of our shoot, the Phung family was celebrating grandma's birthday.  Chi shared a little about her inlaws history and the stories she told really stuck with me.  It got me thinking about my own family and wondering what kind of family "history" would we share with our own children.  Certainly it won't be half as challenging, endearing, or touching as our ancestor's before us.

Chi- you are absolutely gorgeous inside and out!  I'm so glad we finally got together to record a little "history" in the form of photographs.

Oh and... when are you taking me to Pho?  ;-)