One of the things about having kids is an extreme abundance of photographs. With digital photography, we tend to have even more and more decisions about how to print them and what to do with them once they are printed. I could, and quite possibly might, write many posts about what I’m trying to do with photographs, but for right now I will focus on the family portrait.
The annual family portrait has been a big conundrum for me. A four year stint at a New York photo agency has given me a desire for high-end artistic portraits while my thrifty side has often kept me from going that direction. When my older child was little we managed to get some great shots at the local mall photo shop even though their pushy ways of doing business rubbed me the wrong way. As she got older, however, convincing her to behave in that environment got increasingly difficult. To add insult to injury, now that we live in Pinehurst, the closest mall is an hour away. But I still wanted professional photos to hang on our walls.
So this year I broke down and paid the sitting fee to have a local photographer take our photos. I feared spending that money and not getting decent shots due to an unwillingness to smile nicely for the camera, but the truth is that you get what you pay for. Mall shops have their time and place and I have hopes to be able to use them from time to time in the future, but not being boxed in by a 10-15 minute time slot and a photographer who has their own list of “must take” shots regardless of what your desire to purchase them makes a huge difference. We took our photos at the end of October at the Arboretum. We spent an hour with our photographer, Becca of English Rose Photography, and the girls had the ability to run around between shots and to also simply act naturally. While I feel the need to get the posed family shot, I love that the others are able to capture the spirit of my girls.
The great shots we got made it possible for me to send out this New Years card that I simply love. If you have ever considered paying for the sitting fee, I would highly recommend it. Figuring out sizes and frames is a whole other challenge.
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