Here’s something most photographers won’t tell you…they don’t get the perfect picture every time they photograph their own kids.
It’s true. When your kid has been staring down the barrel of your camera lens since the day of his birth, the irritation level is pretty much through the roof.  I mean, he can only smile so sweetly so many times before he hits the wall.  As photographers we want our “little clients” to refrain from saying “cheese” and before you realize it, your own kid, THE PHOTOGRAPHER’S CHILD, is uttering the dreaded word! Then… your husband snaps you back into reality and reminds you that it’s completely normal and pretty much a rite of passage for EVERYONE.

It’s what kids do. It’s what PEOPLE do. And so you move on.

But as a photographer, realizing that your kid IS normal and doesn’t live for being photographed every waking second is a harsh reality that at some point we all must face.  Friends, today was that day.  And for reasons I cannot fully comprehend, I asked a very moody Camden (before school and picture day) to go out front for a few pictures.  The only way he’d even agree to step out the front door was if I dragged his ridiculously dirty chair out with us.  So I did.

And this is how the next 5 minutes unfolded….

Behold – The Cheese.

The Distraction.The How Much Longer Are You Going To Make Me Stay Out Here – I’ve Got Places To Be.The I’m Not Looking At You.The Oh Wait, I Am Going To Look At You.The If I Look Away Maybe This Isn’t HappeningThe Semi-Smile (AMEN!)The Are We Done Yet?And finally, The Oh Yeah, I’m Done Here.

And that my friends, is the sad story of a photographer’s attempt to photograph her own child. And you know what?  I still love each one of these pictures.