The Caccamo Family can be considered the first family of Curt O’Neil Photographer. This was the very first family shoot for me and also still ranks as the largest. Adding it up there were four generations and twelve family members for the shoot.

We started the shoot out at their residence on St. Joseph’s Island which is east of Sault Ste. Marie. From there we made our way around the island to some spots that they thought of before the shoot and some others we thought of while driving around.

It took no time at all before everyone was comfortable with me there shooting them and they started behaving like the loving family they are. It was great to be able to shoot them interacting with each other and not worrying about how they looked and if they had the perfect smile on their face. The next few shots are some of my favourite shots from previous shoots – they capture real moments and that is what I love about photography and the way I shoot. I love being able to capture these real moments that the family is unaware of at the time.

Leaving the apple orchard from the shots above and driving down the country roads I asked Mark to pull over as the road was just perfect for a large family shot.

From there we went looking for some hay bales. I knew if we were able to get into a farmer’s field and be able to play with some of the bales we’d get some fun shots. Another reason why the Caccamo’s were simply awesome was they were up for all of these ideas and knew of places that would be perfect to use.

I’ll end this off with three shots that were possible because once again they were willing to try anything. As we were scoping the field out for a few shots I asked Luke how high he thought he could throw one of his kids in the air. The first shot below is his attempt at it. After the other kids saw it they all wanted to be tossed so Matt suggested that the brothers toss their children between them – now how wild is that? A simple suggestion by me, modified by them turned into unique shots that they will all remember.

To the Caccamo’s thank you for being so awesome and open to any idea that I threw your way. It was your openness that let us get some of the amazing shots we did. After I showed Luke the shots from this session he sent me one of the best quotes I have ever seen (which is also featured on my about me page):

“You are the largest, most full, over-flowing bag of wicked in the history of ever.”

Thanks Luke!

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Here is the complete slideshow from the Jeannette and Anthony wedding shot back on December 27th here in Sault Ste. Marie. To those viewing this at work there is music to the show so watch your speaker volume.

Feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think.

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In the first of many look back posts I bring you Donna and Rob. This was technically a family shoot but they are a family of two so it was treated as a mixture family shoot and engagement shoot. This was done back on November 5th which was probably the last nice day here in Sault Ste. Marie.

We started the day off at Dish, a local espresso bar and cafe.

Donna is another local photographer who covers the entertainment scene for one of our online news sites. We met a few years back when I was shooting local bands at some of our local hot spots. Rob fancies himself a audiophile and can also be found where the local bands are playing. Donna also likes graffiti and has tried the art form out here or there so we made our way downtown to some of her favourite walls.

We continued downtown looking for that urban, edgy, rock feel. We dodged in and out of alley ways looking for the best walls and textures to shoot against. I love shooting with architecture that has texture and uniqueness to it.

It also wouldn’t be Donna and Rob if they didn’t have one of their classic poses. This isn’t a one off shot either, I think we came away with 3 or 4 similar to this by the end of the shoot. Every time I’d have them posing together this would be the first result I’d get.

We finally made it to the old brewery downtown. The building is somewhat falling apart since the brewery went under a few years ago. This once again is a bonus as it provides a great background to the rest of the shots.

It was a great day for a shoot. Thanks Donna and Rob for hanging out with me for the afternoon. How I miss being able to put my camera down on the ground and realize that it is not sinking into a pile of snow.

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