i have been *dying* to share these with you since i took them all the way back in october! i had to keep them a secret since we pulled images from this shoot to use in our family christmas card this year. i promise to blog the card soon, but decided to post some photos for now to break things up:)
i knew for this year’s card “theme,” my kids love of books was going to be the inspiration, so my hubby and i put our heads together for the annual project that we love to tackle together…it’s becoming a sort of tradition around our house:)
and i’ve said many times on the blog and many times to some of your faces, my kids are no exception to how a typical family or sibling shoot goes. there were tears, fights and arguments about how to fix our hair and wear our pants or tights, etc. i pulled out the candy and the bribes. hubby and i got frustrated with each other. and i wanted to scream but really couldn’t since we were in a bookshop. that right there was the hardest part of the entire shoot that i didn’t plan on. keeping quiet:) see, we normally jump all around and sing songs and dance and quote movies, and none of that was really welcomed where we were (although they were kind enough to oblige my vision). and poor baby h wasn’t sitting up at this point, so trying to get an unwilling, distracted pair of a 3 and 4-year old to hold him just right was so. not. happening. and playing mom and photographer all at the same time is truly the most impossible equation. you have a vision and you can’t get it out because your kids are not cooperating like you want them to. at some point, i have to get over this and roll with the punches, but it is so hard in the moment.
and then after some serious decompression, i guster up the strength to download the photos and see what i got. and while that magical shot of all 3 didn’t come to life (the way i wanted), i stepped back just as a mom and fell in love with all of the priceless expressions my babies gave me amidst the chaos. they are so good to me. and hopefully one day they will appreciate all this. and not hate me for it:) i share all of that so hopefully you can smile…and relate…and see that we are not picture perfect. we are just like every other family out there who goes through the same ordeal preparing for family photo day.
miss m’s favorite book that she can pretty much “read” (aka recite from memory): where the wild things are
mr. d’s favorite book: the little engine that could
mr. h’s favorite book: the hungry caterpillar
and they lived happily ever after:)
gigi - Love…love…love these little angels. Of course, I’m partial. Thanks for sharing what it is like to prepare for pics. You can certainly relate since you had a bro and sis and some tense moments preparing for group pics. ( I think back and laugh) Blessings and all my love
shalonda - OH MY WORD….my jaw is still on the floor from getting your incredible card…another amazing collaboration btwn you and stamped melissa BRAVO
Karen Gamble - Love this!!!! Your kids are sooo cute! I want to catch up!
read all about it! » Melissa Darst Photography Blog - [...] this weeks ago, hopefully it’s not too late:) you can read more behind the scenes and see the full library shoot here…and then below, see how it grew into our 2011 family christmas card. must first give a big [...]