Took my Mom and Kids for a Photoshoot | Insanity ensued

Took my Mom and kids for a photoshoot | Insanity ensued

Lately, I have been looking at my children with a sense of longing. Declan started kindergarten last month and I already see a huge shift in him. He talks about things that we have never talked about (fortnight), is asking to write his letters, and just seems to be so much older overnight.

Isabelle has shot up like a rocket the last few months. She is eating constantly and I’m sure not going to fit in any of the clothes I bought her for fall. She has also been talking non stop, learning how to play games, asking me questions that I don’t know how to answer and has been happy being her overwhelming self. Her hair is growing so quickly as well and is at the adorable curl stage that I just want to keep forever.

Charlotte, well we all know how fast infancy goes. She is a happy, sleepy and hungry baby whom I’m afraid might have just started teething. She is beginning to loose her brown hair and, if is anything like her siblings, will soon be bald for the next year of her life.

Basically what I am saying is I did not want to loose all the little things that I love about my kids this instant without having it documented. After seeing all of the yellow flowers in the grasslands last week and knowing that I had a night off I decided to take my kids to get their pictures taken. I save up to get family photos taken every 18 months so I decided to take them myself this time. My mother, the angel she is, decided to come with us.

The Prep

I went closet shopping about 2 hours before I planned on going.  The kids were fed dinner and I argued with an overworked kindergartener about writing his name 5 times (our last name is Weglewski poor kid).  I also tried to coax the 3 year old into eating what I had made while nursing the newborn.  Then tried to make myself presentable because my angel of a mother said she wanted to take some of the kids with me. I tried to talk this up as an exploration adventure and for the most part they bought it, although Charlotte was suspicious and gave me her your not kidding me face the entire time.  We got to the grasslands late and quickly ran out of light but I took two main things out of the night.

My first realization

I again was reminded about what a mother goes through before a session. Trying to keep everyone clean. Trying to get your 5 year old to try on his new shoes and not wine about it. Getting your 2 year old to wipe the dinner off of her face so the red sauce doesn’t stain it. Remember that she scratched her face yesterday so now I have to edit that out of every picture. Dealing with all the moods and I didn’t even have to keep Dad happy this time.

When we got to the grasslands Isabelle was crying because I had to take her out of the car, Declan climbed over Charlotte to get out instead of waiting the 5 seconds for me to get her out and then proceeded to lay in the gravel and play in it. AHHHHH. I almost called it at that second but I remember what I tell all of my clients, “relax and have fun everything will work out”.

My second realization

I realized that there was nothing I would have rather done that night. Yes it was hectic and at times I rolled my eyes. But would it have been better if I had sat at home with them and tried to entertain them for the hour. No, they would have fought over some $2 toy and I would have yelled at them. Instead I had an experience with my kids, maybe that’s what this blog post is about, and we had fun. We experienced a new to them place, found some grasshoppers, laughed, ran, twirled and played. I now have a memory of going to the grasslands with my mom and my kids. The best part of all is I have beautiful pictures to document the entire thing.

What it’s all about.

After all that is my goal during a session, I do not want it to be pulling teeth for the people involved. I don’t want robot children who sit and smile at the camera, although once first thing would be helpful. I want the family I photograph take a day out of their entirely too busy lives and have fun with each other. When they see their pictures I want them to smile or cry when noticing the way their two year old looks at them in admiration. I want them to chuckle at the silly things their 5 year old does or tear up when they realize they now have their family captured just as it is today.

You might be wondering who took the last picture. That would be Declan. Not bad for a 5 year old.

Let’s get in touch!

If you are thinking about a crazy family session with me, please email me at alisontheresephoto@gmail.com or use the let’s talk link on top. I am happy to answer any questions you may have. It is best to book your session with me about 4-6 weeks in advance (sooner if newborn session). Especially in Spring, Summer and Fall.  Check this falls available dates.

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