Am I the only one who finds it close to IMPOSSIBLE to get the kids to sit still for a decent picture with me?  I can get great pictures of them if I’m behind the camera, but as soon as I slide next to them they turn from oh-so-cute and sweet and charming to silly monsters.  I just want one (or two!) nice pictures of me with the kids, but in just about every shot at least one of them: refuses to look at the camera…decides to have a melt-down right when the picture is being snapped…looks half drunk…runs in the opposite direction.  Or its me with my eyes closed!

Tonight I wanted a picture of me and the kids in our Notre Dame gear, but it quickly turned into a very bad idea when Mack refused and whipped his head back right into Evie’s face.  Ouch!

My mom tells a story of taking my sisters and me to a professional photography studio.  She wanted to give my dad a framed portrait of his wife and four daughters, but she hadn’t considered the fact that the four of us would be wiggly, whiny and unpredictable for the entirety of the shoot.  Every picture turned out horribly; at least one of us was crying or not looking at the camera in each one.  She left the studio without buying a single shot, and to this day its one of her biggest regrets.  As she says, not only would the picture be hilarious today, but it actually represented her life at that particular moment in time.

I really want to nicely capture this time of us as a family of four. I love photography, but if I’m on the other end of the camera I can’t exactly stage a decent shot. I think its time I call in a professional like Lauren Wakefield.  She took some great pictures of us last year, so maybe its time to have her back?!