Dante would agree
November 17, 2006
Today I am entering the Tenth Circle of Hell, otherwise known as taking photos of your children for Christmas cards. Children who act like they have never before had their photo taken. Children who can not seem to manage a “real” smile. Children who can not seem to sit up straight if their life depended on it. Which it does. Children who will wrestle and climb all over each other, but can not bear to touch their sibling in a photo.
God help me.
Posted by Chris @ 9:58 am
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oohhhhh. Good Luck. Iof you come home and no one has died, its a good photo
November 17th, 2006 at 10:02 amsave the outtakes (and of course, we want to see them here!) it’s been 25 years since we started taking kid photos for Christmas, and the old goofy shots seem funnier every year.
November 17th, 2006 at 10:14 amDude, I can’t get TWO kids to cooperate for a photo. I will pray for you.
November 17th, 2006 at 10:21 ami’m laughing remembering your photos from last years Christmas shoot! entertain me pleeeeeeze!! ;o)
November 17th, 2006 at 10:24 amWhat Mir said. Good luck!
November 17th, 2006 at 10:25 amI have one word of advice for easing the stress of Christmas card photos - ‘photoshop.’ You don’t have to get them all to smile at once! Take a lot of photos at the same sitting and grab and paste the best smiley face of each into one final photo. (If you want to photoshop and need any help with it, let me know. I’m working on my card right now.)
November 17th, 2006 at 10:28 amOh! Good Luck, I will be attempting our Christmas photo with my 3 very soon…
November 17th, 2006 at 10:32 amI’m worse off than Mir, I can’t even get ONE to cooperate. In the first two years of his life, my child became a one-man vaudeville act everytime I pulled the camera out. Now, he runs away even with offers of access to unlimited M&Ms.
November 17th, 2006 at 10:38 amGood luck with that one. Just don’t expect perfection, and then it will come.
November 17th, 2006 at 10:45 amBest wishes Chris. It really is the worst task of the year.
November 17th, 2006 at 10:48 amLike Lilly says. For about $80, you can buy Photoshop Elements for your computer. This $80 has saved me a whole lot of grief. I make everyone keep their pose and smile for a whole fistful of shots. I shamelessly bribe them with candy. And then I find the best picture of each child and I cut and paste them together, and use the Photoshop magic bandaid to hide the cut and paste lines. Works like a charm… even though our hate-that-camera oldest son’s “best” is never really that good.
November 17th, 2006 at 10:51 amI completely understand. You will have to come read my blog about our Christmas pic this year. You will have to scroll I wrote about it awhile back. Jennifer
November 17th, 2006 at 10:53 amThis year, I am taking my kids to someone else to have the photos done. Everything you said, and the fact that after the hell of taking them, I have to print them and mail them…..the horror. Dude photographer will take the pics, print them, and all I have to do it put them together and send them.
It seems like cheating, doncha think?
November 17th, 2006 at 11:23 amOh no, it’s that time of year again, isn’t it? Do you think my relatives would object to receiving postcards of Idaho instead?
November 17th, 2006 at 11:36 amLOLOLOLOL
Yeah, I gotta do that too soon….
November 17th, 2006 at 11:38 amAs soon as I figure out what the heck they’ll wear…
Mary
Yeah. I know the feeling and I only have two. I think I’ll use the ‘funny face’ pictures for my cards anyway, because no one ever sees my kids smile nice.
November 17th, 2006 at 12:15 pmCrap.
Here I was thinking I was ahead of the curve having outfits for 3 of the kids already. I thought my biggest worry was finding the other 2 that are left outfits.
But now I see the battle hasn’t even begun.
Note to self: Must figure out a way to get 5 kids to pose for a picture at once.
November 17th, 2006 at 12:17 pmI always feel guilty when I look at our Christmas cards, knowing those smiles were coerced with threats of bodily harm, “Look at the camera and smile dammit!” Good times.
November 17th, 2006 at 12:27 pmI have been attemping this very same thing for the past week! With just 2! Like Sheryl, I too end up using the bodily harm approach. It has worked in the past. Sigh.
November 17th, 2006 at 12:33 pmDo pictures of their shoes this year. Or their barefeet. Or a mix and match. Easier, and in keeping with this month’s [forgotten?] theme.
November 17th, 2006 at 12:55 pmPictures are one time when I allow my girls to say forbidden words. Instead of saying cheese, we will all say ‘poop’ and it makes everyone laugh.
November 17th, 2006 at 1:06 pmhaha
I remember your photos from last year!
Can’t wait to see this year.
November 17th, 2006 at 1:10 pmJust use the purple tie-dye picture!
November 17th, 2006 at 1:47 pmWe took ours back in July when we won the Ford Escape…figured that was the biggest news of the year, so we might as well share it
However, today we are on to a whole ‘nother level…the professional picture. We have an appointment at Picture People at 4. My children are just like yours (thankfully, there are fewer of them). Pray for me.
November 17th, 2006 at 2:21 pmSounds like a good time, I am sure the pic will turn out wonderfully, good luck.
November 17th, 2006 at 2:44 pmThat doesn’t sound like a fun day to me. I hope you get a good picture, and that you post it.
Cas
November 17th, 2006 at 3:23 pmCan we pretty please see the funny ones???
November 17th, 2006 at 3:26 pmI hope you get a good picture, but sometimes the funny ones are the better ones! Especially when they are the ones that capture your family’s essence! ANYwho, I was in Barnes and Noble the other day and I saw a magazine that I think you might enjoy. Its about helping rise families the organic way, but not all crazy! It is really great and I have been telling everyone I can think of about Kiwi Magazine! It is the best! Check it out!
November 17th, 2006 at 3:50 pmThis morning I said to Wade, “We REALLY need to take Christmas pictures this weekend.”
And he said, “Do we HAVE to?”
Yes. Because it’s CHRISTMAS, dammit, and Jesus wants pictures of our kids. Amen.
November 17th, 2006 at 3:59 pmOh cripey…I got so frustrated last year that I took the kids to Sears (another unmapped circle of hell). I’m hoping this year I will get lucky and have at least one decent picture for the cards.
Good luck
November 17th, 2006 at 4:53 pmI think I’ll be trying that this weekend. I’m gonna go for the action shot, I think. Thus avoiding any of the insanity!!! (I hope)
November 17th, 2006 at 5:45 pmChrist, we don’t even try here….
November 17th, 2006 at 6:07 pmWe haven’t even done the ‘traditional’ Wal Mart family photos.
I am embarking on the same adventure this weekend.
Eck .
November 17th, 2006 at 6:52 pmGood luck.
I’ve been procrastinating on this particular ring of hell, myself. I hope the Force was with you.
November 17th, 2006 at 7:00 pmI agree - trying to get children to all smile at once is the tenth circle.
November 17th, 2006 at 7:08 pmWhat’s trying to shop at Stuff Mart with them? I’m thinking it’s darn near close after our time today, and that was with 3.
I cheated this year and found a great picture from this summer of all 3 together, I just used that.
November 17th, 2006 at 10:02 pmOhh the horror! I can see it now. The lady schedules the appointment for 2:00 and you finally get in front of the camera a little after 3:00 with all the kids hair now a mess, spit on the baby’s outfit and the toddler is missing some article of clothing (e.g. shoe, tie ect). I always say I’m going to try to do it at home and it never turns out how I like it. Good Luck! I’m putting it off a little longer!
November 17th, 2006 at 10:10 pmLooking forward to seeing the result!
November 18th, 2006 at 3:41 pmwere you sitting next to me at the mall? I was trying to get all three to smile at the same time without putting some one in a head lock. No such luck.
November 19th, 2006 at 12:25 amYour making me feel bad again. Christmas photo card, do I really have to send those, I mean…..please. Not again, not this year. Can’t I just use the same you from last year? Please. I don’t want to do it!!
Seriously, good luck.
November 19th, 2006 at 1:04 pmHope you get atleast one good one! I remember your Christmas pictures from last year! I hope you share them again!
November 19th, 2006 at 4:31 pmWe will all be inspired by your heroic effort :-)! I’m taking a page from FamilyFun magazine and photographing an “I Spy” collage of our past year….no live humans or animals involved, lol! Chrissy
November 19th, 2006 at 4:37 pm