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Family Photos 2015 (Help on card choice, please!)

Dear Readers,

We have received our family photos from Andrea and I would like to enlist your help in selecting a favorite for our Christmas cards. As I'm watching news coverage for the mass shootings in Paris, it feels a little silly to even discuss something as frivolous as family photos. And yet, I want to share anyway because my family is pretty much the most important thing to me in this (really horrible, really appalling, and also really beautiful) world. The photos make me smile and hopefully they make you smile, too. We could all use a smile about now.

A little about the photo shoot itself: we scheduled this about two months prior and then I stalked the weather like none other as the event approached. I stressed about our outfit choices, about my hair and makeup, about the behavior of my children and their ability to smile at the camera and look pleasant. I was classic Julia with this photoshoot, totally high strung and worried about how it would all work out. The weather was fantastic for November 8th, it was sunny and we didn't actually need our snow gear like I had feared. And the kids? They sort of blew me away with how they owned the camera. You'll see below that we did, indeed, get some good ones.

We were going to meet Andrea at a new-to-us park for the photos because a few weeks ago the leaves there were incredible. Then we drove by the park the day before the photo shoot and nixed the location right away, depressing bare trees abounded and we came up with a plan B.

Nate and I immediately decided that we might as well do the pictures at our house this year, mostly in the back yard but probably wandering around the 'parkway' which is county property full of trees and bushes and fairly open spaces. We haven't had family pictures taken since Porter's newborn shoot at our house, which was also at our house. My brain was already thinking of some great comparison shots from the past 1.5 years when we decided on our location, and as a bonus? We could pull Henry outside for a picture or two then let him retreat back inside if three kids and one animal proved too much chaos to handle. (yes, it was wild there for a bit).

I had two possible outfits for each kid and settled on final options for Nate and myself (after a failed Target run last minute to find me a new sweater or something 'fun' to wear, no dice). I used my new IIID foundation makeup and You Tube'd how to actually curl my hair now that it's longer, and deemed myself 'GOOD ENOUGH'. I then had to wake Cecelia and also Porter from their naps for our 3:30pm start time and it was a little touchy for the first few moments of getting the children dressed and mentally prepped for family photos. I basically let Truman pick which shirt he wanted to wear out of my two options, and then Nate selected Porter's top, and I always sort of knew I wanted Cecelia in the new denim Gap dress I scored on consignment. Actually both Truman and Cecelia had their options of 'new' outfits due to consignment store finds, and both of Porter's options were Truman's hand-me-downs ;)

So anyway, Andrea came over and we headed outside to the backyard and started snapping away. I had a bowl of candy (non-chocolate, will never make that mistake again after a few unfortunate brown drool incidents!) ready for bribery, and here are the results.

Henry got in one picture and that was it! This was behind our house, behind our back yard. Searching for a little bit of color and I love this area so much.
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Our three kids, all of the heart eyes. Of course, Porter was a bit iffy when I wasn't holding him but it's a very 'Porter' face that you'll see below.
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Contenders for my favorites, especially the close up one on the right:
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Front porch shots, love these a lot. Porter demanded to hold a gourd and CC followed suit. Thanks for the festive props, kids!
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Andrea found this rock wall for a few solo shots of each child. Really love them all so much my heart can barely take it.
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And then a big leafy area with a bit more color. I like these a lot, and the big one on the bottom of this collage would be perfection if it weren't for Porter's 'deer in headlights' face. Or maybe that makes it completely perfect? ;)
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Getting a little wild throwing leaves around, the kids were totally loose and having a ball by this point.
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Leaves everywhere!
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I wanted a shot with my girl, as she was getting cold and needed to be held a bit. Oh, my sweet Cecelia, you are something.
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Then Truman wanted to lay down and rest (yes, seriously) and Cecelia laid right next to him. These kids are absolute clones with their smiles sometimes.
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I plopped Porter down and really love these shots of our trio.
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Next came a parent-only shot, because when do Nate and I get to have a photo alone? The kids were literally running in circles around us here, confused about why they weren't in the picture.
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And my cold little girl all bundled up in my favorite blanket (that belongs to my in-laws, specifically borrowed for this shoot).

Any favorites? I need to pick one or two for our cards and hopefully soon!

End thoughts: family photos can be alarmingly stressful and totally unnecessarily so. But they are really worth it with these images that I will look back on fondly, remembering the chaos of the little kid years with rose colored glasses. I can't help but wonder how much the kids will change in the next year, and isn't that the crazy part about family pictures? They seem outdated in no time, but I truly love the older shots of our growing family, too. Photos are my favorite, I can't help it.


12 comments:

  1. The one on your front porch!! It's a great photo of all of you and I love that it's in front of your house. :)

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  2. I am cracking up because I just blogged about needing outfit help for our family pictures that are this Sunday. (PLEASE look and let me know, ha - right now there is no clear winner and I'm frustrated!) I got 3 new tubes of lipstick and everyone got haircuts (and my bangs are too short, grrr). We haven't had pictures since Drew was a newborn (she'll be 3 on Jan. 2) and the ones we tried to get of the 4 of us were terrible. Ha!

    Now after rambling about MY family, here's what I think of your family photos: You can't go wrong with any of them! I do like the one with Henry because that gets everyone and it's really pretty - the scenery is great and y'all all look good. I am OBSESSED with the one of the 3 kids in the leaves! My sister did that with her trio last year (we made magnets for our mom), and I still love that picture of hers. I like the ones on the porch a lot and like that it has meaning (I probably like the non-closeup one better). I also really like the ones on the blanket - but I think I like the smaller one better than the bigger one. The ones that you called 'contenders for your favorite' are both really good - I like the close-up EXCEPT I don't like the way Truman looks like he sticks out, but on the smaller one I don't like that you can see Cecilia's shoes (not that it looks bad) and Porter's smile is better in the other one, so neither one of those is my favorite but still both really good. I don't know if I've helped any, but for a Christmas card, I'd probably do the one with Henry and the the one with the kids in the leaves together.

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  3. Your photos are so great! I don't know how you will choose! and I LOVE your makeup, you look beautiful. I keep seeing people post about that makeup...I think I need to try. I'm afraid I'll pick the wrong colors. Did you buys some of her brushes too?

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  4. Definitely the family shot (the close up shot on the right) on your front steps! It screams home for the holidays! A lot of those shots are good, but so much background around them - I'm presuming she could crop. Then, some of those others are great pics too!

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  5. These are so good! I dont think it even matters which one you choose for your card, they are all great, I'd have a harder time choosing which to frame! We didn't do pro pics this year, but I think I might have to insist next year!

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  6. Uggggg I'm so jealous! These are amazing! We took pro photos in WY this summer and there is not a single one that I love for our main photo. There's one of just the kids that will go on the back, but I hate every single shot of the 4 of us. FWPs, right?!

    My very favorite is the front porch shot, on the right. But seriously, you can't go wrong!

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  7. My fave family photos of yours ever. Great outfits, great smiles, and your hair and makeup are on point! ;) Your kids all look so alike, it's crazy! Love them all.

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  8. I can see why you ask for help choosing, they are all so good! Your family is adorable and you look gorgeous!! My favorite is the one with Henry in it. Second favorite is one of the porch pictures - the bigger picture on the right. Good luck choosing!

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  9. Your family is just so adorable! I can see why you are having a hard time choosing :)

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  10. I think no matter what you choose, it will be great. I love the one of the kids throwing leaves at y'all.. And the kids laying the leaves. I like the family shots above the porch pictures and the 'open field' ones. I love the clothes! So cute!

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  11. Good grief - these are absolute perfection. Our shoot was a total disaster this year, so this absolutely blows my mind how many amazing shots you got! Love love love them all!

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  12. So lovely! Your hair and makeup lookd fantastic!!

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