The Impossible Details

We sat in Caribou for our pre-shoot consultation. "What are their ages?" I asked and held my breath. "Seven and a half, four and a half, two and a half, two, seven months, seven months, five months, and four months." I exhaled deeply and let out a little nervous laugh. Eight kids seven and under? All in one studio shot? I wanted to crack a joke about using duct tape but wasn't sure if it would be appropriate - or funny. But the even funnier thing about this was that I had already agreed to do it. Funny...or crazy...or perhaps a little bit of both.

This is a Brady bunch family. You know, the kind involving two existing families coming together and forming one big happy family. One of the all-grown-up "Brady" kids and her husband and three kids live in Florida and they were home for the holidays. And what a great idea to have a photograph taken of all the grandkids together as a surprise gift for grandma and grandpa for Christmas. The catch? The Floridians were not coming to Minnesota until the 19th. Yes, we had to have the shoot on the 20th and edit, choose, order, and print the images in time for Christmas. (Have I mentioned before that I have a "can do" personality? Now do you believe me?)

After getting over the shock of the reality of their ages and our timing, we got to work. This was too important to let a little thing like the impossible details get us down. 

So, two shoots later with many groupings, grandma almost coming over during the shoot and ruining the surprise, kids crying, treat bribery, kids crying again, loads of singing and pretending to be farm animals, kids crying again, blizzard conditions, eight parents trying to make uniformed decisions, and leaky diapers, we got the job done and ended up with some really cute shots. And I got to spend time with a wonderful family. Really, for the stress of this shoot they were so helpful and easy going and fun to work with. This would not have been possible without their good attitudes (and singing help). A big thanks to them!

I asked a veteran professional photographer for advice on this shoot and one of his comments stuck clearly in my mind. "If you can get one shot with everybody in it where nobody is crying and all heads are turned somewhat towards the camera - then you will have been successful." I almost made it...

A Kid's Life Photography Website

My Happy Place

While I was pregnant with my first child my husband and I took a birthing class. We had to practice breathing and concentrate on finding our "happy place." I really tried hard... for about 30 seconds, but then my busy brain moved on to other thoughts like how I could get an epidural and how long it would take me to get an epidural and if it would hurt to get an epidural. I never really found my happy place, and went with the epidural for both of my children.

I am unsure if we are going to have a third child, but I do know one thing for sure: I now have a happy place if I need one. It is a porch in rural America on a sunny fall evening. Yup, a porch just like the Lyon's. Ok - not just like theirs, but theirs specifically. This is my new happy place.

The kids are amazing and were so fun and kind to me (I even left with a gift of original artwork!). We played hard, and even through the wrestling, they were full of love for each other. While we played, their parents sat on the swing and visited, and you could tell that they so enjoyed each other's company even after 12 years of marriage. And then there was the sunset and the woods and the grass and the dog and the porch. Oh, that porch where they spend most summer evenings.

Yes, it is pretty much white-picket-fence-ideal-America, but it really goes deeper than that. This porch holds love and time well spent together too. Sounds cheesy, I know, but if you were there you would understand. And I hope the photographs give you a glimpse of that. 

I am feeling a bit indecisive so I included quite a few images. I hope you enjoy them...

A Kid's Life Photography Website

Beauty from the inside out...

My son has a crush on little Freya - it must be that cute smile. One look at her beautiful parents, and you can see she is destined to be a beauty. You can be sure that my little Abe will have a crush on Freya for a long time.

I must admit however, that I would be more than happy for a Freya-Abe crush because Freya's parents are our dear friends. There's no doubt they are beautiful on the outside, but they are even more beautiful on the inside. Yes, I have high hopes for Freya...from the inside out.

I thought I would share a fun spontaneous mini-shoot from the weekend. The combination of this beautiful family and my new video software was way to much to resist!

A Kid's Life Photography Website