Family photos can be a painful ordeal. It’s tough to coordinate naptime schedules and the best sunlight for photographs. And, if you want a beach photo, the tides must be considered as well. Sometimes, getting a group photo in which everyone is smiling and looking at the camera can be a real challenge. But family photos are priceless to me, so my kids indulge me. The winner of our March Madness basketball bracket is the only one allowed to grumble during the photo shoot.
Sometimes, we hire a professional photographer for our annual photos. Other times, we enlist a patient friend or neighbor. One year, we had a perpetually cranky baby. So, we nabbed our neighbor, stood on our front porch, and repeatedly tossed the baby high in the air. We told the other kids to keep smiling and looking at the camera. Don’t move. Our neighbor clicked the camera each time the baby landed in our arms…eventually scoring a smile.
Another year, we decided to take our family photos at Windansea in La Jolla. The beach setting is beautiful, and the rock formations are a great perch. The youngest two “fell” into the ocean and the older two bonked heads while fooling around on the rocks (the red spots on their foreheads had to be airbrushed out of the photos). The portraits are proudly displayed on our walls. The backstory is our little secret.
When our kids were young, I purchased matching polo or dress shirts for the boys and tops for me and my daughter in the same color. However, our children rebelled against the “matchy matchy” outfits after overhearing an onlooker question whether we were a family singing group like the Von Trapp or Partridge Family. Now, we just pick a few coordinated colors, and everybody selects their own clothing.
I love candid pictures as well as formal photographs. They both are a snapshot of time…literally. A digital picture frame sits on my desk, a gift from my kids. The slideshow of photos warms my heart and brings back memories, brightening my day and making me smile.
