When you have a photographer as a mum. Well a part- time photographer. Your playroom often gets changed into a studio. There are strobe lights and big reflectors. A backdrop wobbling around against your piano and your toys all stacked in the corner and in other rooms in the house.

My kids are used to it, they often come down in the morning and peer into the playroom and ask me who is coming to have their photograph taken today. Most of the time they know not to go in and walk all over the backdrop in their shoes. They are pretty good about it.

But now and again, after a shoot, they all bundle in and i take some shots of them, which they love. This time of year we are starting to think christmas cards so i gave them some silly hats that might well make it onto our seasonal greetings. But might not as well! So far i know of at least 2 out of 4 of my kids classes that are doing that ‘design your christmas card and get it printed’ thing. So we will see.

This first one of this next collage, was the 1…2….3….shot before the jump! Can you tell!! 🙂

Looking back through them was really fun, it was the less than perfect shots that i liked the most. I gave them a little direction and then just left them to it and fired off a load of shots. They seemed to love it and it was pretty obvious to see that the youngest wanted to be doing exactly the same as the oldest but couldn’t quite pull off the ‘jump’ shots very well!!

What really made me smile when i was editing these shots was the ones that had captured a ‘down’ moment. When they weren’t performing and trying to shine for the camera. Little looks and interactions between them, closed eye giggles and chuckles and those little dropped out moments that my youngest has with her ‘boo.’ Then of course there is the inevitable crashes when you try and get five kids to all jump at the same time on a 5foot wide backdrop. They were all pretty good humoured about it though. It was only about 10 minutes of time but they really appreciate being able to be part of what i do. Just like they love it when they get an opportunity to come into the hospital and peer through the glass at the tiny wee babies in our intensive care rooms.

I guess they see it as special. A treat. Funny how what is so ordinary to me can be extraordinary to them.

🙂

c