Help Me Pick A Photo Please
We take lots and lots of photos of the kids, which is probably pretty obvious to anybody who follows this blog. We take more now than we used to simply because we have a better camera now with a bigger memory stick. However, last week we were asked to send photos to my FIL of the kids. I was really excited because 1) they asked, 2) they have never asked before, 3) we have tons of photos, and a few of the recent ones of Zane are pretty good. I knew that I could probably get a better one if I was on a mission to, just by sheer volume of shooting.
Then, the stressful news: they want one from about 18 months old. Ok. There isn’t a single picture of Zane at 18mo that doesn’t have him naked or covered in goo or a runny nose. So, then they said 18months – 24months. That is better. Not as stressful.
They want it to put in his office at work. He works as an accountant/financial planner in a very upscale area, so that means we should probably leave out any pictures where he looks dirty or has a crappy background (like most of the pictures in our apartment). So, outdoor pictures for the most part.
Then they say, offhand, they want one that is a little more posed; one with him looking at the camera, and a second picture where he is sort of “doing his own thing” or more casual. Ugh. Looking at the camera. The only pictures where he is looking at the camera are indoors, where he is covered in some sort of marker/food/dirt and our camera was really bad at indoor photos so the flash does really goofy things. The more presentable pictures do not have him looking in the camera.
I know that they didn’t, in any way, mean to cause me stress, but do you have any idea how depressing it is to look through thousands of pictures covering a 6 month time period to realize that you don’t have any that is “clean face”, “just Zane” (no parents or other people) and “looking at the camera”. It sucked. It should have been fun, because usually when I look at the old pictures of Zane it brings me joy remembering him then. I know that strangers aren’t likely to be able to see through the kid grime and huge cloth diaper butt (and it was monumentally huge) and see the beautiful soul in there.
I can say with some certainty that all of his cousins have professional pictures of them because all of them are pretty well off compared to us, which just took me back to how much that time sucked financially.
So, if you had to decide, which two pictures would you choose?
a few indoor ones
The outdoor ones
I am leaning towards picking two of the overalls pictures, but not sure which two.
Zora, obviously, isn’t as hard. Between the fact we had a nice backyard and not slum housing in the background, the camera was better and she is much easier to photograph. Hers it will be more a matter of narrowing it down.
I really like the second one from the top, the one with the fluffy hair. It shows off his beautiful blue eyes really well. He looks like what I would imagine Zach would have looked like at that age. However, it’s obviously a candid, casual shot. If you’d like his photo to match studio ones, I think the closeup overall shot (second from bottom) is very sweet and looks more posed.
For looking at the camera, I like the one in the striped shirt. I also love the second-to-last overall one for a close-up, but he’s not looking at the camera.
I LOVE the one of him in the tree (the one that looks like he climbed it.) I’d definitely send that one. I would frame it and display it in a heartbeat.
On second thought, I’d send all three of these. Heck, I’d probably send him the entire batch and let him decide. They’re all sweet.
I say forget looking at the camera.
I like overalls in the trees, both of ‘em.
I LOVE the picture with the beautiful hair (2nd one) My 2nd choice would be either one of the “tree” pictures. Those are absolutely beautiful and I think those are as good as or better than if a professional photographer took them. Actually I think that I like the first tree picture best. He has such a sweet look on his face…looks like he is posing and looks like he climbed the tree.
Be still my heart, what a little cutie-pants!! I’m partial to the first pic but it sounds like that’s not what your FIL wants.
Within the listed parameters, I would go with either the one in the green shirt (the longer hair does make him look like Zach), or the second to last overalls picture. I like the first tree pic, too (the one with him actually in the tree) but it needs to be cropped a bit more.
I love love the one of him in the overalls where he’s actually in the tree!! Too too adorable!!
I love the second from the top one (if I had to pick between the two indoors) because you can see just how deep blue his eyes are. And I’m no help w/ the outdoor ones, I love all of them!
Either two and three or two and five of the outdoor pictures. That second of the indoor ones is super cute, but it sounds like this inlaw might expect a bit more out of a picture than spontaneity and joy.
I love the second one and the fourth one (in the tree). They are all wonderful, but those show his spirit from the inside out!
OMG, your kids are the cutest I’ve ever seen! I work with children for a living so I feel qualified to say that lol
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