Christmas Card photo saga, Part 3

Where was I? Oh yeah.....In preparation for the Christmas photo for 2004, we had found a professional photographer and went down to the beach to take the pictures. It was colder than I ever remember around these parts, and despite the clear skies over the ocean that you can see in the picture, the area behind us was darkened gray, and the rains that had drenched the coast for the days prior, were only taking a few hour break before the downpour started again. We had sunlight for a brief window, as it was quickly setting to our west.

I had repeated myself like a manic myna bird; I want a horizontal picture, with the ocean behind them, and the kids holding hands...IN COLOR.

Much to my horror (only realized when I got the prints weeks later)....the photographer had lolly-gagged around taking black and whites for the first part of our "session"...here I was worred that we only had a scant bit of time to get the picture, not to mention it was icy cold outside, and she was behaving as if it were noon on a summer's day, with all the time and sun to get the perfect shot.

So, just to update, by this point, a had an entire roll of sentimental black and whites, but nothing even close to the picture I wanted for our Christmas Card. And...this chick charged by the roll, in addition to the pricey "sitting fee".

Sure there wree adorable pictures such as this one;



but that wasnt what I told her I was wanting....

at some point, she switched to color, perhaps the impending sunset reminded her that time was running short. But perhaps not, because she pulled out some bubbles to let the kids play some more. Which is fine at noon, but not when you only have a bit of time left, and it's freezing. Clearly, I wasnt going to have a picture of bubbles on my Christmas card, so what was the deal????



And then there were INDIVIDUAL poses such as this one...HELLO?? Im not going to use that for my Christmas card.....so, let's get on with the show!! and besides, she looks like she is going potty - which isnt festive to anyone!



By this point, the sun was near gone, the dark clouds were pracitically overhead, and I was really annoyed.

I understand that some people pay for a photographer to follow their kids around and get precious candids, but this wasnt one of those times. Our nanny and I both kept asking each other, "When is she going to get some shots of them together with the ocean in the backdrop???" We were cuddled up in blankets watching this all unfold, marvelling in how the kids were handling the chilly weather, on the wet sand, in their bare feet.

And then she had them hold hands and take some shots together, finally!

She was describing how she was trying to get their reflection in the water, and how beautiful a large print of that would be in our house. I reitterated that I wanted the ocean behind them, not a reflective shot, but she gushed over how lovely it would be. At that point, I told her that my son's thinning hair, with patches of baldness, was not his typical "look" and we would probably wait until his hair thickened up until we took that portrait photo that would grace our mantel for eternity. (and by the way, she then earnestly insisted that his hair looked absoulutely wonderful to her, and she couldnt believe that it was "thinning". I guess it's kind of like the time that I was searching for a dress for my Jr. High graduation, and I found a clingy knit dress *with no waist* that I liked...and the sales girl raved on and on about how fabulous it looked on me, yeah, kinda like that, right Grandma J??) But this photo session was simply to get the Christmas card that I had described a thousand times...that's it. I had a card already picked out that would compliment that beach scene, and it was a horizontal card.....and....that's what I was wanting from this particular (expensive) photo shoot.

But she went on and on.....taking shots like this.....



It was really annoying. When I worked at Del Taco as a teenager, we were taught the ole "customer is king" theory. If the person pays you for a taco with extra cheese, dont give them a burrito with sour cream....or they will go elsewhere for their tacos in the future. The person who pays is kinda the boss....they are paying for a service or a product...we must give them what they came for.....

Somehow I think that was lost in "photography school"....because no matter what I said, she kept setting them up for shots like this....




And trust me, I cant emphasize this enough, things only got worse......to be continued.