My Own Family Shoot and Those Big Expectations

I recently went out with my fellow photographer friend and she convinced me that I needed an updated session with my family (it had been years, I can’t even believe that I had let so much time go by!). I had Big Ideas in mind. Which means I also had Big Expectations. The thing is, when you have three small children all under the age of 5, your big ideas and expectations are probably not going to be reached. Being a Type-A person this is really hard for me to accept!! I typically don’t have expectations or standards at all when it comes to things like this (ie: flying on airplanes, the office Christmas party), but every once in a while we will do something special and I will suddenly get these Expectations.

I should really know better, because when I talk on the phone with my families before their photo sessions, I remind all of them that small children are unpredictable and it is better when we gage the session off of their interests and flow instead of our own schedule. The problem is, sometimes it is just so difficult to take your OWN advice! And so there I was with my Big Expectations of how the shoot would go…. so of course it was a total disaster for the first 20 minutes. We parked the car and it immediately started pouring, and after it rains in Florida there are giant puddles. You can guess what a 5-year-old and 3-year-old want to do with giant puddles. Plus, my oldest son refused to let go of the wooden spatula he insisted on bringing from home so 75% of our family photos have a wooden spatula in them. Or him making a stink face because I made him put the wooden spatula in the stroller.

At least after the first disasterous 20 minutes I had gotten rid of those Big Expectations and gave up on having fairy tale like photos of everyone in the family looking in the same direction all smiling (normally) at the camera. And you know what? I got the photos back and I absolutely, completely, 100% LOVE THEM! I love that spatula in my son’s hand. I love those ridiculous photos of every kid looking in a different direction. I love my husband making super dorky faces so that our kids would all laugh. I love these imperfect photos because they capture the point in life we are at right now. That’s why getting your family photos done is so SO important! Sure, that one photo you get of everyone looking in the same direction and smiling is amazing, but what you will really value down the road are those impromptu pictures of the family laughing, jumping in puddles, and clinging to wooden objects that would have been better left at home.

So when you show up to your shoot and feel like a hot mess, take a deep breath and let those Big Expectations go. I am here for your family to capture those little moments and special snuggles. Let’s enjoy these crazy times together and focus on what’s important: your family as it truly is right now.

A very special thank you to Osmeri Mancebo for these gorgeous, and very special, family photos.