Say Cheese

So this weekend my three year old turned four. How four years have passed already, I will never figure out. I’m pretty sure it was just last week that she was figuring out how to walk, right?

I know, I know, I sound like every parent out there. Unable to come to grips with the reality of time moving forward and children maturing. And just like all those other parents out there I’m always trying to slow it down or at least memorialize it somehow.

I wish I had a much MUCH better memory so I could simply close my eyes and see G as a baby girl again, but sadly my memory is awful. So I do what parents everywhere have done since the invention of the camera and I have photos taken every so often of my little ones.

It started with my first child. I was chronicaling his every move from the moment he was born. Every three months I had a different set of portraits taken at JC Penney’s to mark another big change in my little boy.

We would take our little guy to the store, have all these outfits and props we brought with us and try to fit this huge 3 month old baby personality into a 20 minute session. They would bring us in, set up the room, and then once every couple minutes they would take a picture. They always waited until the little baby was smiling and looking right at the camera. And at the time we thought this was great.

Then we were at a friend’s house who had all these cute candid pictures of their kids up all around and I started asking questions. “How did you get that picture to look so professional?” and “this one looks just like a something you would see a photogaphers studio”. To which my friends responded, that is exactly what they were.

But…but…but… they were candid. They looked carefree and relaxed. I mean over half of the pictures weren’t centered or smiling. They were all the innocent moments of infancy and toddlerhood.  I wanted some!

When we moved back to the states after living in Canada, I started looking for a photographer that I could build a report with. One who understood a large family, how they work, and would be patient with us.

Patience was the key.

Just imagine if you will for a minute… getting five little bodies dressed in coordinating outfits that didn’t look like they have just been rolled all over. Then convincing at least two of them they were not in fact hungry right at this moment because we just had breakfast. Then convincing another one that the bow is facing the way it is supposed to face and if she moves it again her mother might come undone. Now imagine getting all five of these little bodies to follow very specific directions such as “tilt your head down” or “put your hands around you knees” or even “step a little closer”. And please keep in a mind that a little kid can’t distinguish what exactly “moving a little closer” even looks like because now they think the photographer wants them in the same physical space as their sibling and well… now there’s a meltdown.

These are all very real factors when getting pictures taken with kids. Frankly it’s completely exhausting getting one child to stand there and smile, let alone all of mine. I have to make sure I wear an extra layer of deodorant anytime we even attempt a family photo, because by the time we’re halfway done I’m sweating bullets and we haven’t even got one decent shot yet.

However, what we do have are lots of fun family moments along the way to that great family pictures. We have moments where someone was laughing so hard they throw themselves backwards off a box, or where someone gets antsy and decides now is the perfect time to twirl around, and we have times where Dad is just staring at his daughter like she’s hung the moon because she did something super cute. These moments are what parents really want. I’m not alone is this right?

If they’re a great photographer they’ll be catching these silly moments too. They’ll also be encouraging these moments. They’ll be patient as your kids figure out how to sit still all at once. And along the way you’ll start to get comfortable with this photographer.

I really wanted to find this person!

So after M was born I thought I would check out a new photographer for some newborn pictures. Someone who came to our house. (Gasp! I didn’t have to leave my house!) She was also someone who had been recommended by a very dear friend who understood just what I was looking for and knew how I could get it.

Let me tell you all… I hit the jackpot! This woman is phenomenal! I can’t get over how great she is with my kids. She is so patient. Waiting as we calm down a crying baby, waiting as we wrangle a sleepy two year old, waiting as I nurse the crying baby. She’s also seriously on top of it all. She caught every little mouth pucker moment and sweet baby yawn that any parent could want. She encouraged us to relax and that it will happen but it might take a moment. She never made me feel rushed to get a shot, or that I was failing because I couldn’t calm someone down.

I cannot express enough how important this was to us. Pictures always used to stress me out. I used to feel like I was failing as a mom because someone was always misbehaving, or starting a fight, or simply not paying attention. But Christina has corrected me of this misunderstanding. All families are like this she says. It takes time to catch those great moments.

Christina Paoletti is an absolutely amazing photographer and if I can help her find some business then I’m totally going to help her out here. Check out her website if you don’t believe me but just look at these shots! They’re absolutely perfect.    http://www.paolettiphoto.com/

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She is one of the most patient and kind women I have had the honor of meeting and can’t wait to work with her again for another set of shot when my little M turns six months old.

Getting pictures is still really important to me. These little guys only stay little for so long and I know I’m a pretty nostalgic person who loves looking back at the past. Having a photographer that I can work with and that easily becomes a friend as well is just icing on the cake for me.

I now have pictures that show my youngest three children’s true personality, as well as some moments that show them as sweet cherub angels that can do no wrong. I have pictures of pouts. I have pictures of love. And I have pictures of some of the best smiles my children can produce. Gosh it’s truly amazing what a great photographer can do for you.