“SnapShots” from Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa

I’ve invested in family photography since my babies were in my belly. We’ve had maternity photo shoots, newborn photo shoots, first birthday photo shoots and annual shoots thereafter.

Why?

It’s not because we’re on an unlimited budget. Far from it. But if I didn’t pay someone to take our photos together, I’d never be in any pictures. I’m always the one behind the lens.

And when I put someone else in charge, like my well-meaning husband or mother, most of the photos that include me appear to be deer-in-the-headlights or in-the-midst-of-camera-instructions moments. Not exactly my best side.

So when I knew were headed to Beaches Turks and Caicos, I booked our free family photo shoot before we even arrived. Oh, wait…free? Yep. I wrote free just there.

Now, is it totally free? Not exactly. If you like the photos (and you will), then it’s US$18 per digital image unless you buy a package of 15 or more, which rounds out to US$220 (and also includes a frame with a 5×7 in it), all the way up to a monster package worth US$3,500.

Um, I went with 15, in case you were wondering.

And it feels like a bargain, to be honest, because you find me a professional photographer on home soil who won’t charge a sitting fee and will give you 15 high-res images with full copyright usage for about CDN$250. Unlikely.

Our photo shoot was from about 6 to 6:30 p.m. and our photographer from SnapShots, Alex, worked fast and did a good job listening to my Type A directions, ensuring we had a good chunk of candid photos to choose from and not just the posey-posey ones.

Before I show you our beautiful pics, I’d like to offer two tips:

1. Remember that if you book your SnapShots shoot when the sun is strongest, you’re going to have a lot of squinty eyes.
2. Consider reserving your spot early in your Beaches vacation before all of the luxury food and beverage inclusions have their way with you; I made the grave error of scheduling our shoot the day before we left and this was not the dress I was planning to wear. But the one I did plan to wear didn’t exactly fit the same as it did the day we arrived.

My favourite is the series of my kids walking hand-in-hand along one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. These are the two I chose:

And then there were a whole lot of “pairs” shots, and these were the best four among them:

But then, there were so many family shots that I loved. And I mean LOVED. Like these:

SnapShots photography is available from 10 a.m. until sunset at all Beaches Resorts, and I think it goes without saying that booking a shoot is a must.