Family Photo Attempt

This weekend was sunny and beautiful so I decided to break the bad news to everyone that it was time to try a family photo.

There was much weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. Sigh.... Even the girls were griping.

I chose outfits for everyone, and while they happily complied complained and acted like I was killing them, I went outside and set up the tripod. The kids started straggling out to help get the camera set up in the correct spot.

The first group of unenthusiastic posers makes an appearance.

The excitement is building. Can you feel it?

Okay--can mom set the timer for 10 seconds, run, and get seated in time to smile pretty for the camera?

First try. This one would have worked had we not had some eye closers.

Not tooooo bad, but the blank spot between my head and Chloe's is very bothersome.

Last try...this one looked okay on my 2 inch camera screen but after loading, I noticed that a gust of wind had blown through the hair of some of us. Let's just say, there are no super models anywhere who are fearing for their jobs. However...NOTICE...the DOG looks great in this shot! Although for serious dog-dom beauty, she should have had some wind blowing her ears up a little.

I'm sure my family will not be happy to hear that the photos did not turn out to my satisfaction. The tall teen didn't arrive on the scene until the last minute and I didn't notice that his head is at the top of the frame. That means when the lab prints the photo, half of his head will get lopped off. Gah! If you're wondering why I didn't just move the tripod back, please let me explain. It was placed on a very steep hill in our yard and it took QUITE awhile to get all three legs set up correctly. If I started fiddling around with it during the shoot, the wailing and fussing would have increased to an intolerable level. And I couldn't move my family farther away from the camera because they would have fallen off a cliff.

And yes, I did Photoshop the "Fallen" logo off Taylor's shirt in some of the photos.

As bad as these are, they really aren't as bad as the professional ones we paid for last year. At least the kids were looking at the camera even though no one was standing behind it!