I have a friend and she wanted to get a family pictures taken. Seemed like a good idea but did you ever notice that sometimes what seems simple can grow out of control???
So my friend, she has a girlfriend who is a photographer. Now I’ve seen these pictures and she’s really good. She just has a special knack. She’s a natural. So I can see why my friend really wanted this woman to take her family pictures.
Now these pictures are not the kind in a little room with a painted backdrop hanging behind you. They’re the kind where everyone is outside and there are real trees and grass and rocks and maybe a creek. The kinds of pictures that make you look like this beautiful playful family out being one with nature. You know where you get an image in your head then you have to start going through hoops to live up to that image.
(I know this is where it almost starts to get, hmm, just a little close to the edge).
Ok, back to the story of my friend. She needed clothes for her family of five. Something for herself, her husband and their three children. Now this would be simple but sometimes she’s got to go that extra step to be different. So there was no way she was going to put them all in white shirts and jeans or all in black. And nothing too matchy matchy either. Noooooo. They had to have a color scheme and one that would look good in her living room. Yep that’s right, couldn’t take picture of her family and then have them clash with the decorations. (See, there’s another step closer to going right over the edge). She wanted clothes that made them look like they all belonged together but that they didn’t all have the same shirt on in different sizes. (She did them in pastels one year and they looked like a bowl of sherbert so I know she wanted to do better this time).
After several trips and quite a few stores she found a color pallet that she really liked and that would look good on little girls, a toddler boy and a Mom and Dad. Now she was ready to schedule something with her friend the photographer. So a few e-mails to get some ideas tossed around and to pencil in a few possible dates. Then she got a phone call from her friend explaining that due to reasons beyond her control they would not be able to do this photo shoot for another 6 to 8 months.
(insert pout lip here)
After getting this news, she thought to go to her husband to process the information and consider their options. Should they throw in the towel or try to use another photographer?? She had these clothes that she liked and worked hard to find and was so worried that her husband would tell her to return them. Anyway she sent a quick e-mail to him at work to get his feedback and maybe a little “Awe honey, it’ll be ok” from him. However, in her haste, she sent it to the wrong e-mail address. Not just any address either. It went out on an e-mail loop…to 20 plus people…to her photographer friend…and ALL of their friends.
(GASP)
NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
(“Idiot” hits self in head)
So a little damage control and she did her best to move on and forget about her stupidity.
So her dear sweet friend moved on past the blip and sent her a list of photographers that might be able to do the same thing for her. Hmm, ok. She looked at the different web sites to get a feel for each one; She picked her favorite from the list and then made a phone call. The one she called had just had a major computer malfunction and lost hundreds of photos. After a good 20 minutes on the phone and some female bonding and a few tears from the other photographer (still trying to absorb what she was dealing with) they said goodbye and my friend moved on.
Checking out a few other photographers but not feeling it she was getting so frustrated and disappointed and worried (she tends to obsess about things). So through another friend she found a photographer and scheduled a date for outdoor picture in a nearby park.
As the days passed she realized that the weather was not looking good. Now her obsession became the weather channel and the Internet radar. She watched the 10-day then the 5-day forecast like a 1950s Father pacing in a delivery waiting room.
Her husband was making (in his mind) attempts to calm her. He had the idea of bundling the kids up in their coats staging the photo area and pulling them out of the car quickly to get a few quick pictures then pushing them back into a warm car before they got too cold. Clearly he did not know what was going on in her head. A photo shoot does not work like that. She wanted a good hour or more of different areas of the park and various setting/poses. Casual shots not plastic smiles that make a feeble attempt to hide how cold everyone feels.
The morning of the photo shoot with an expected high of 45 degrees, she called the photographer and rescheduled. (Here comes the step that may have sent her over the edge) The day that the weather and the photographer could work was a weekday…at 2:00 in the afternoon. Not just nap time for the toddler but also one of her kids would need to be pulled out of school and her husband was going to have to take a half a day vacation to accommodate this new schedule. (Luckily for him he new this was not the time to get in her way or make any complaints) It wasn’t until afterwards that I think she started to see how crazy she was getting over this idea.
The day of, the weather was perfect! Her husband quietly grumbled while he unloaded all the props from their van. Oh yes, she had props. Some had been worked on months ago. There was a wagon, a wicker chair, three kid sized chairs, a blanket, some hats and two very large frames. You know, to hold up and stick your head through for a playful photo. She bought those frames in August for these pictures and spent hours scraping and sanding and painting them to get just the right look.
So now after months of planning, obsessing, praying for good weather, holding her breath that the kids would not fall down at school and get a scrap and a brief wrestling match with the toddler to get the marker out of hands so he didn’t end up with a pink mustache. (Can’t wait see if you’ll be able to see the pink dot by his ear)
After all that, now she waits to see the end result. I wonder if anyone will ever tell her how crazy she gets over little things. Does she know???? Will she ever get a grip???
Naaaaaa.
Here’s the cookie tray I put together after I came home. I think it looks pretty nice. These are just a few of them. There are plenty more that are still wrapped up.
