Photographic Evidence

I received so many comments on the photo of my kids that I included with yesterday’s blog entry that I feel the need to address them today. Yes, my kids are very cute. Yes, they are also quite photogenic. (They get that from their father, as evidenced by nearly every photo of me ever taken.) But even so, it is not exactly a walk in the park to get a photo of them as adorable as this one:

Let me share a bit of backstory on this photo. As well as these two cherubs, I have a young adult stepdaughter who, along with being a full-time college student, is a member of the Army Reserves, works two jobs, and splits her free time among family and friends all over the country. Needless to say, it is a rare occurrence to get our entire family in the same place at the same time. So when she joined us on our Christmas vacation, we took advantage of the chance of getting a complete family photo. Conveniently, we spent our vacation on a cruise ship, which, as anyone who has ever taken a cruise can attest, is a synonym for “photo opportunity.” With professional photographers lurking around every corner, formal and semi-formal dress opportunities left and right, and gorgeous backdrops everywhere you look, it would be easy-peasy to get a beautiful family portrait, right?

Ha.

Trying to get two small children to look in the general direction of a photographer while smiling and maintaining a relatively humanoid posture is a difficult task under any circumstances, never mind when they are wearing uncomfortable clothes, have been overstimulated all day, are hungry for supper, and when random Disney characters might walk by at any time. “Distracted” and/or “crying” is usually the order of the day. Sometimes, they split it up so one child is distracted while the other is crying.

Sometimes they’re both distracted.

Sometimes they’re both…well, let’s go with “not smiling.”

Sometimes they're both smiling but there’s just a certain lack of sincerity.

Sometimes they’re both looking in the right direction and smiling but somebody blinks.

Sometimes someone’s hamming it up but not quite in the way the photographer intended.

Sometimes someone just gives up entirely.

Sometimes just when you get that one back into place, the other one gives up.

Sometimes the subject is too busy trying to steal a wand from the backdrop.

Sometimes the subject decides to make a break for it before the session is over.

But every once in a while, the stars align and you get something as wonderful as this.

And that's why we just keep snapping away!