portraits....the backstory

so, i've gotten a lot of positive feedback on how pretty the girls look in their Easter pictures. i thought it would be funny to share a little back story on the making of these images. i remember in my youth, dreading portraits. my mom would plan our hair and wardrobe for months in advance. we would spend hours getting ready, waiting impatiently under threat of death, for the big moment when we'd head out to a studio in the hot sweaty car, only to wait some more for the photographer to finish their last appointment, before finally being put in some unnatural pose and holding a smile for hours on end. the results were usually the perfect family photograph, big smiles on everyone. i hated every minute of it! (this is a bad example, since it was my Debutante Ball and not just an average family portrait. but, you get the idea)here's my approach: monday was the day i chose. so when Bria and Wyatt invited the girls over to play....i said yes. i just brought their dresses to her house when i picked them up. Anna had taken a golf club to the face the day before, so she had a big fat lip. but, i still went with monday. when i came to pick them up, they were eating strawberries. juice was everywhere. their hair was day old, they were covered in dirt. oh well, monday was my day. it was really convenient because Bria's house was my chosen location for the shoot. i stripped them down in the car, put their dresses on and set them loose near the horses. i had brought a chair for some posed shots, but they were having none of it. so, i let them play and got what i could. 40 minutes later we were headed home. i think they loved every minute of it. but, i'm sure when they grow up they'll still blog about how much they hated taking family portraits. moms can never win!