Sorry, no pictures to share with this post; just a story. I wasn't the one with the camera, for once.
I am a believer in the power of positive reinforcement. Who isn’t, really? Everyone likes to be rewarded for their actions. Parents especially like to use incentives to reward their children for good behavior. Sometimes a reward can be as simple as an encouraging word, a smile, a hug, or even a high-five. Sometimes we need to go a step further and offer a trip to the park or to the toy store to pick out something special. And then there are other times when we have to bring out the big guns. At times like these, like on family portrait day, we bring out the lollipops.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, I LOVE taking family portraits. In the past, we’ve always gone to a typical studio like Sears or JC Penny. But recently some friends of ours had their kids photographed by a local artist who specializes in newborns, children, and young families. I was so impressed by her work after seeing how she captured my friend’s children that I scheduled us an appointment with Jennifer Pondillo Photography for our annual Easter pictures.
Having never hired a professional photographer before, I was very nervous about the whole experience. I just didn’t know what to expect. I could barely sleep last night and I had butterflies in my stomach all morning long (Yes, that’s how important family portraits are to me). And when I looked in the mirror first thing this morning and saw a huge zit on my chin, I feared that it was a bad sign of things to come. The pouring rain flattened my carefully curled hair and we were running about 20 minutes behind schedule. Surprisingly, we got to the photographer’s house on time anyways and as soon as she let us through the front door, things started looking up.
Jennifer, the photographer, was inviting and friendly- such an easy person to smile for. The studio was set up in the corner of a fully furnished basement and all around it were fun and exciting toys for the kids to play with. Josie and Jamie made themselves busy while I changed Johnny into his sailor outfit. Johnny, of course, needed no incentives to smile. He was happy and cheerful and an adorable photogenic bundle. I have no doubt that we’ll see some priceless pictures from his sitting.
Josie then took center stage to pose for the camera. She was in great spirits, most likely overtaken by all the bright colors and lights of Jennifer’s studio. She smiled eagerly and followed directions as she was asked to switch props several times. I can’t wait to see how her poses come out!
Next it was Jamie’s turn…and here’s where the lollipops come in. Jamie is two years old and a stubborn two-year-old at that. He likes to live his life on his own terms. I had to force him to sit in place and although he sat, he would not smile. He kept his hands up by his face, rubbing his eyes in determined defiance. We tried everything to get him to smile- funny faces, music, toys, even marshmallows. Still he pouted. Jennifer revealed her special surprise for cooperative little boys and girls. Lollipops! Jamie was quick to grab for an inviting blue Tootsie Pop and we hoped that by allowing him to hold it we could keep his hands away from his face long enough to get a few pictures. Still he sat, lollipop in hand, pouting.
We decided to take the focus off him for a while to get some group shots, hoping he’d liven up enough for another try later. I had brought a framed 8x10 picture of James in his uniform with me. After all, I wanted him to be represented in our family portraits. I sat in the middle, Johnny on my lap squirming vigorously in an attempt to escape my grasp, Jamie on my right still holding his un-licked lollipop, Josie on my left saying ‘cheese’ over and over and over, and James’ picture in front of me at my feet. There was so much commotion that I have no idea how we looked. I’m extremely curious to see the final product.
Jamie did finally loosen up and started to cooperate. In exchange for his lollipop and a handful of marshmallows we got him to smile for the camera multiple times. All-in-all, without yet having seen the pictures, I would consider family portrait day a huge success! The process itself may have been a challenge but I can’t imagine that the pictures are anything short of perfect. I mean, how couldn’t they be? They have my kids in them!
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