I’m writing this post to share with you the outtakes from my attempt at getting that perfect Christmas PJ’s picture.  As an Atlanta family photographer, I get the chance to photograph families with kids very close to my own kids ages pretty often.  Sometimes the kids are super easy, and sometimes they aren’t.  Mine are not. Maybe it’s because they are my kids. Maybe it’s because they are just over me and my camera. No matter the reason, they are not easy. Let me just walk you through the process of what went down in the 20 minutes they gave me.

I will first say, that they did not do this willingly, or without being bribed.  Let’s just be honest.   As you can see, I have 4 children…3 of whom are boys.  Boys are notorious for not enjoying being photographed.  My kids range in age from almost 9 years old, to 2 1/2 years old.  There are a lot of them close together in age.

With no more waiting..I present to you….our outtakes!

Outtakes

Right about now, on this picture, you can see that 2 kids (ahem, oldest boys) are not following directions, and the little guy has his hands all over his face…note here, older boys also look thrilled!

Ah yes, in this picture, my youngest has decided THIS is when he’s going for the kill on that pesky booger, and my daughter just isn’t looking:)

This was actually our 2nd attempt, and by this point in the 2nd attempt, my oldest son had declared “I quit” and I just didn’t care anymore…and then these 3 needed photos of themselves jumping.

This would be a keeper IF I wasn’t missing that older son that declared he was quitting.  I may or may not have threatened to call Santa by now.

One of two pictures that I will actually show people for the “finished product.”

The other “finished product.”  I actually love how this one turned out, but here’s the thing, in my “vision” I really wanted them all just sitting on the bed, appearing to snuggle and like each other, and maybe even looking like they were reading “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”  What I got is still totally adorable, and I will cherish it forever, but it’s not really that close to what I had in mind.  It’s important to realize that with kids, they are often reliably unpredictable, and things will often work the best, if everyone involved is able to embrace the chaos and go with the flow!  If you’d like to have me come and photograph your family embracing the chaos, click here to see more family photos.

From my crazy crew to yours, Merry Christmas!