Today was family photo day... YEAH

Last year, my sister's only wish for Christmas was to get a family photo of the Vail's.  She had made this request in previous years, however I played hard to get.  I had decided it was time to grant her wish and more importantly, should I say, to stop being hard headed.  Last year, I put an ad in craigslist and hired a random photographer to take our family photo, as our regular photographer was booked.  I found the entire situation stressful.  We went to a greenhouse, which was beautiful.  But the photographer took forever.  The girls were all dressed up, yet dropped their shoes in the stream and we had to fish them out.  They had on white tights and decided to crawl on the ground, which left them black.

This year, I felt the same.  Stressed out.  It was a workout trying to get myself ready, the girls, along with keeping Bob on time.  I asked the neighbor to take pictures of us as a family for our holiday cards.  Then, she asked if I could take photos of their family.  I was all for it, however I wanted to take family photos on separate days - not all at the same time.  She thought that idea was silly and thought we should do it all at once.  I found the whole experience very overwhelming.  Trying to keep the girls clean in the woods before their photos, taking pictures of another family, yet trying to maintain composure.

I dressed the girls in white boots and the neighbor wanted to hit the woods hiking because it was such a beautiful day.  It was muddy.  The girls brand new gleaming white boots got trashed.  FAIL. 
At the end of the day, I took a deep breath in.  I need to RELAX more and STOP trying to be a perfectionist.  There will never be that "perfect" family photo where every member is smiling at the camera and I need to accept that.  That is what makes photography so BEAUTIFUL.  Capturing the "MOMENT."

I realized that not everyone has that CREATIVE eye.  While I can't say that I have a favorite of a family photo taken of us this year or last, I will tell you that I took some kick A photos of Bob, Giselle, and Isabella this year.
Next year, I will have my mother take family photos of us, as she has her father's creative EYE when it comes to photography.  I was memorized while looking at old photos taken....and THAT is how it should be.  Photos are meant to FASCINATE the EYE and CAPTURE your SOUL.