My failed photo session 

So, those four words are probably not ones you would like to hear from a photographer. But like all jobs with ups and downs, photography is no different.

I would like to take a moment to explain why this session was a failure, and lessons learned.
I will start by saying that it was my own photo session of my two boys (4 + 7). Just like every other photo session, I planned their outfits, their haircuts and their non-messy snack right before we left.
What I didn’t do was take my own advice that I give to parents all the time: if parents feel stressed, the kids do too.
We didn’t have a lot of time, the sun was setting and I knew in just a few short days, the glorious leaves would be gone. I was putting a LOT of pressure on the boys. Though they are no stranger to photographs, the boys are like any other kids- sometimes cooperative and sometimes not. This was a time they were not really into having their photo session, but I proceeded anyway- after all, I just HAD to get a photo for our holiday card.

This was the result:

Just perfect. Because nothing says “Happy Holidays” quite like two grumpy boys. It was right about this time, I had to explain to some passerby that these were my kids and I was raising my voice only because they weren’t doing what I was asking of them. Yep, that’s right, a 4 and 7 year old weren’t doing what I wanted them to do. I took a few deep breaths, told them to just have fun and we won’t worry about the card. We threw leaves, skipped, and giggled.
This was the result- they were having FUN! I was having fun! What a lesson to me to take my own advice: calm down, have fun and let the kids be kids!