I like to oogle over cute newborn pictures, I love getting wedding announcements so I can look at the sweet, clever, and lovey-dovey engagement photos, and family photos at Christmas time are my favorite---I hang them all up. This last year I did not take them down until April!
I am *TRYING* to keep up with a record of our own family. Somehow it has come to include family photos in my mental checklist (we do it yearly right now because the kids are growing and changing so much each year).
I'm going to come clean and just say it. While I love our family photos, I really *REALLY* dislike our family photo shoots. If I had to do a photo shoot with my kids tomorrow or go get a root canal, I'd have a hard time choosing between the two.
The weird thing is that the final product of our yearly family pictures NEVER reveals the agony associated in my memory with the experience. In fact, from the *LOOKS* of it it would seem that we had a nice time:
See? Everybody looks happy. Great night, piece of cake, right?
Well, these pictures almost seem hypocritical , because I was there for every single painful moment. I heard the whines, saw the tears, and tried to act happy when the question "are we done yet?" pierced my ears for the 100th time.
Here's the reality of much of what the evening was like... (WARNING: There are naughty children in the pictures below!)
So in case you ever set out to get family photos and afterwards you feel like getting a root canal might have been a little more pleasant of an experience...just know, you are not the first one to feel that way. And after it's all said and done buy yourself a candy bar and eat it after the kids go to sleep. You'll have earned it!
3 comments:
Oh, do I hear you on this one! There's always drama associated with family pictures! That's why I've decided that my favorite ones are of us playing and having fun, instead of posing for the camera.
Great point Mackenzie! We did get a super cute jumping shot, where I'm the only one jumping (we were all supposed to jump at the same time, lol!)and the kids are laughing and Joey has the most beautiful genuine smile on his face and I have to say it is my favorite, because it really is an authentically happy, kind of goofy, but super sweet picture of all of us.
This is something I read a lot about online (kid photography) and yes, it is really difficult! Think about it from their point of view- why would a little person like to stand in one position and smile "just one more time?"
However, those out-takes are precious too. They capture your children being "naughty" (which really isn't that naughty, right?) and it is endearing. It captures their personalities.
Next time. Just relax. Don't expect perfect behavior. If you're relaxed chances are they will be too. Let the photographer do all the hard work. :)
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