Christmas Card Photo Shoot

Two weeks ago I called our usual photographer to schedule our family Christmas card session - and the number was disconnected. I drove down to her office - and found an empty office space. She must have gone out of business! I am sad - she's been taking photos of the kids since Aurora was 1 years old, and I can't believe she didn't call to let me know.

Anyway, I don't have the time nor want to put the effort into finding another photographer this late in the game, so I decided I would just get a picture of the kids myself! I went down to the Dollar Store to get some "props" first, for the kids to play with and make the picture look festive. Then I did what any desperate mother would do - I bribed them! I told them if they were really good for the photos and listened, cooperated, and smiled nicely they would get a big piece of candy afterward!

I spread out a big white tablecloth and pinned it to the wall, got the kids all dressed and groomed and set out the props. I have to say they did really good! They played with the props and looked at me when I asked and behaved as well as they could!

Let me also note that I have a very old camera - we bought it right before Aurora was born! In fact, a new one is on my Christmas list this year. But I had to make do with what I could. I also don't have any cool photo editing software. Despite that, I think the final photo came out pretty good! A little blurry, but hopefully not too noticeable on a small Christmas card. Still, I don't see a career in photography in my future!

Here are some outtakes, and then the final photo to be uploaded to Snapfish for our cards:

Note: Thanks for the potty training tips!