Sitting at home one Sunday morning, watching the kids get along so perfectly, I said something stupid to John.
"Let's go take some family pictures today!" I never shoot in the middle of the day (if I can help it) so, of course, we decided to go out, right before sunset - witching hour.
It's the couple of hours when dinner is usually being eaten, everyone's arguing about their cheese to vegetable ratio (which turns into a chocolate sandwich anyway) and you're trying to get everyone ready for bed.
Well, not this Mama. THIS Mama decided to drag her family out for a photo shoot instead.
..let's all laugh together.
We checked our Sun Seeker app so we knew exactly when the sun would be setting and we piled into the car at 6:30pm.
The kids had eaten some form of chicken but John and I were running on empty until we got home.
"If you guys can do this for us, we will stop in at McDonalds on the way home and grab a treat!" Needless to say, the kids were excited to prove themselves.
We jumped out of the car and I pulled out my gear.
John grabbed the kids out and walked them over to the spot we had in mind.
Self portraits are bloody hard enough! Add three small children to the mix and you're destined to lose your mind in..
3..
2..
1..
..and the cars driving by..
THANKFULLY we managed one that wasn't a COMPLETE waste of time and sanity!
Make that two!
When we 'self-portrait' our family photos, it drives me absolutely insane with the amount of running back and forth to ensure we were actually in focus.. in shot.. properly exposed.. etc..
I would have adored that one on the right!!.. if it was bloody in focus!! There's actually so much about this image that I don't like - it's mainly technical aspects along with posing issues, but that's what you're dealing with when you roll like this. I love how 'Momma' is all about her babies and 'Daddy' is all about his wife. It's sweet and is exactly how John and I shoot.
We knew we needed to get some updated images onto the website. So we took turns behind the camera.
..aaaaand had a few 'not ready yet!' shots.
Note: Yes, I look pregnant. No, I am not. That, friends, is what an unflattering angle, three babies and a Christmas break at home will do to you.
And, to throw John under the bus, I had to 'edit out' a hole in the crutch of his pants. I do love him!
These two though..
Is it obvious yet that Brooklyn is at the 'I don't want a photo!' age??
As I watched the sun set, I wondered if, maybe.. just maybe, I might be able to catch a really pretty backlit family photo. I knew I was kidding myself.. but I was going to try!
I took a quick couple of test shots to see what the light was doing.
Yep, I was going for it!
I ran back up the dirt road to rearrange the kids and HOPEFULLY keep John in a position where he's blocking that direct sunlight into my lens.
The kids were over it.
We were over it.
I was PUSHING it.
..and, we were well and truly out of focus!.. off centre.. horribly positioned.. Brooklyn was crying after being told that we were, in fact, NOT going to McDonalds because he wasn't speaking nicely. Therefore, Havanah was packing a hissy with me too.
..then, the remote wouldn't work!
..until I got halfway down the damn hill!
So I threw that idea in completely!
In the end, we were left with a bunch of portraits of Havanah, some useable portraits for the website, two family photos and a single, kinda decent, portrait of John and the kids. Meh.. I'll take it.
Moral of the story?
Hire a photographer. Even photographers can't SUCCESSFULLY do it on their own! - but we'll always give it a shot.. won't we?!
Side Note: John went back out to get McDonalds for him and I after the kids went to sleep. It's unhealthy for them anyway!
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