Professional Pictures Take 1

Right now my kids are ages 1, 3, and 5.  But it's only a matter of days before Grace turns 6 so I wanted to commemorate this time with professional pictures.  I was fully prepared or so I thought.  It was my idea to bribe my children with cupcakes thinking that they would be on a sugar high and super happy and smiley for their pictures.  Fortunately for me the gourmet cupcake shop is next door to the photography shop.  

We arrived promptly for our appointment but still had to wait almost 15 minutes.  In spite of my better judgement we began with individual portraits of each of the kids.  With a blue background that I don't particularly care for.  I had requested a solid white background so I could hang the pictures on my wall...but the photographer insisted on starting with the blue...

Grace and Faith were great and smiled beautifully for their photos.

Benjamin did as well.  But that didn't last for long.

By the time the photographer was ready to do a group shot our opportunity had passed.

Benjamin was crashing from his sugar high and wanted a nap.

So he screamed and and screamed and threw such a tantrum that the photographer suggested we let him take a nap and we try again in two hours.  

With one final shot of Grace and Faith we left so Benjamin could take a nap and hopefully wake up in a better mood.  I still want a picture of all three of my kids.  

First lesson learned:  As much as I like some of the pictures of Grace and Faith, I simply am not going to spend a small fortune for pictures that I will not hang on my walls thanks to the wrong color of the background.  I want our family pictures to maintain a cohesive look by having a plain white background so if I choose to group pictures together there is no visual clutter.  Next time I will insist on beginning with the picture and background that I am most likely to purchase regardless of "the professionals" opinion.

Lesson #2:  Mommas know their children and their temperaments best.  Young photographers would do well to listen to what the customer wants and take photos in the order requested.   They are not likely to upsale me a bunch of individual portraits if they can't get the one pose I most wanted.