Getting your kids' portraits taken...

[Kat's Mom]

Anyone hate this as much as me? Now that I'm on my third child, I don't delude myself, I know how frustrating this experience can be. We had Friday off from school so off to Sears we went. However, I thought it would be the 2 mo. old that would give me the trouble, but it was my 4 y.o. son that actually made me need alcohol after the photos! He thought it would be humorous to cross his eyes, stick out his tongue, etc. After the "grabbing his shirt and telling him to knock it off talk", he of course started to cry and whine and refused to sit with his sisters. As usual, I "settled" on a few portraits. Because it took my son so long to cooperate, the baby fell asleep, so the group portrait has her sleeping; oh well, at least she wasn't crying. After my son's behavior, I thought I'd die when the photographer asked me what I did for a living! Luckily, we only do the group picture once a year! Hopefully, the baby's next photo shoot will go more smoothly since I'll only have her!

 

[SC]

That sounds rough! We took our 3 month old to Portrait Innovations on Saturday, and we had a great experience. They were very good with DS and were very patient when he got a little fussy. We got some great shots. I was afraid he'd be grumpy the whole time, but he was in a good mood since we fed him right before we left. Fortunately, DS isn't old enough to do things to purposely irritate us.

 

[CatBells]

Kids Pictures

It can be frustrating now, but you will laugh about it one day.

I used to get very upset over the whole picture things, but then I realized that I wanted pictures of my children not perfect models. I loved to look at the holiday portrait of my two kiddos when they were 6 and 14 months. My dd had been very fussy during the sitting. When we got home, I discovered that the poor thing had come down with chicken pox! I treasure the portrait of my dd as a 2 year old. She was biting her lip to keep from crying. It just reminds me of how stubborn she was as a little kid. She grew into a wonderful easy-going teenager. When he was in 4th grade, my son insisted on wearing his Boy Scout uniform to have his picture made.

Just enjoy those babies; they grow up too fast!

 

[laurathy]

photos

I agree. One of my favorite family Christmas pictures from when I was little was my first Christmas (3 months). My twin sister and I are being held by my older sister (3 1/2 at the time) one in each arm. She is smiling happily at the camera, and my twin sister and I are screaming! While the "perfect" shots are nice too, the funny ones are more memorable.

 

[TeacherBB]

pictures with kids

I went last weekend and would have LOVED a nice glass of wine afterwards....but it was 11 am so I didn't! My three yr old DS was very uncooperative. Whining, crying and not sitting still. My 4 yo DS was great but then decided he had to go potty--right there in his pants! I was mortified! Anyway I got a few decent pix, but man do I hate getting these photos done.

 

[SC]

I just wanted to add that one of my favorite pictures we got this weekend is of me holding DS while we sit next to DH. DS is screaming his head off, I have a look on my face that says "Here we go again," and DH looks like he wants to help but doesn't know what to do. We got a big copy of that one because it very much describes our life!

 

[Eydie]

Don't Use a Studio!

I use a lady who's main business is wedding photography. She has lots of spare time during the week since most weddings are on the weekend. She will meet us at any location, she takes tons of pictures, and has them on line for approval and printing usually the next day. We took fall pictures at the park last Tuesday afternoon. How cute to see my three HAPPY children looking natural as they played. We did take a posed picture or two on picnic benches and on a spread blanket in front of some trees and bushes with fall color. Even the dog got to join us! She is coming next week to take pictures of my daughter and her pony here at my house. I would never pay a studio for photos again after using her. The cost is not that much different and I would rather pay alittle more for photos I love then less for ones I "settled" for.

 

[Rubyslippers]

Well, I only have one child and he LOVES having his picture made, so it's no problem. But my sister recently cleaned out all of my mom's pics and gave us each our own. There are 3 family portraits of us 4 kids: one when I was about 3 and another when I was about 4 and one when I was about 5 and that's IT! ! Lots of candids, and some posed portraits of us 1 at a time, but no more group pictures! BTW, I am the youngest of the 4.

Now, getting my DH to agree to family portraits...that's the problem!

 

[AD]

That is why I have a photographer who comes to my house! She stays for however long we need her to stay, and she takes tons of pictures. It's so nice to do it in the comfort of our home.

Another perk...she puts all the pictures on CD and I can print them off wherever. I usually take them to the photo machine and CVS and print pictures for $.29 per 4X6. Perfect and inexpensive for Christmas gifts!

 

[photo]

pictures

The first mistake is to take them to those cheap studios. The photographers there don't have much training. They are low quality prints, bad posing and lighting etc. How do I know? Because I am a professional photogrpher. Take my advise, and like some mentioned here, go to a professional photographer. You get what you pay for. Why would you want bad photos of your children/family? These are keepsakes. Photographers who have private studios and/or will go on location produce better quality photographs. Some will go to a location of your choice too. You can get them printed at a cheap printer, but then again, why not let your photographer do it for you. Again, you'll get a much higher quality photo and edits/special effects can be made if needed or wanted. Please don't take your baby to Sears for the next photo shoot. Many professional photographers have reasonable prices. Try it, you'll really see the difference.

 

[TeachtoScrap]

Portraits

I agree... STRESSFUL sums it up! We try so hard to get her at her happiest, but some meltdown always happens. We have a studio at home (DH is a photog junky) so we are able to take them any time if she is not cooperating.

Some of my most favorite pics of her came after a 30 minute crying session. You would have NEVER guessed by her sweet smile that she had been a terror just seconds before. It just takes that ONE good one.

Now with 2 kiddos I am finding it hard to get them BOTH looking decent at the same time. For our Halloween pics DH had to morphe two pics together in photoshop just to get one where they are both looking up and not wiggling around!

Aw, sooooo fun!!!! We are off to the farmer's market this week to get our fall pics before Christmas comes our way. We will see how it goes! I may need to crack open that bottle of wine when I get home, but I am sure we will get at least ONE!

 

[Kat's Mom]

I like professional photographers, but...

I'm on extended maternity leave, and money is tight. I can't justify hundreds of dollars on pictures right now, and it was only the kids' picture I was getting, not the whole family. We are taking a beach vacation this summer, and the whole extended family is renting a beach house with us. We are planning on having a professional photographer take our family portrait on the beach then and am hoping for the portrait of a lifetime!