Friday, November 16

Photography & Holidays

I lied. No pictures. It was too cold to go out and too dark to take indoor pictures. I can't figure out how to take decent indoor photos with our digital camera unless the sun is shining directly in one window and the full moon is showing in the other, and I set up mirrors down the hall to reflect the light from the bathroom. When I try to use the flash, it's like photographing Gollum in the cave: total darkness and big eyes protruding from it. *shudder* I have to sleep with these images in my head, and so, I avoid creating them.

However, it is time once again to start thinking of taking the family Christmas photo (that I will never get around to mailing). Important stuff, that. A friend, who also has four, passed on her tips last year, and I think I'm going to try them. She takes one child at a time to a pre-selected spot, and takes a gazillion pictures of that. one. child. Repeat until all pertinent children have been photographed (this step can be spread out over a period of, say, weeks, for the less stalwart). Then, from the relative peace and quiet of just before midnight, sit down with a cup of coffee, a bag of snacks, and pick the best photograph of each child to use in creating a collage. Ta-Da!

Think about it. Four children, all smiling, all looking at the camera, all clean. Nobody's crying. Nobody's touching anybody else. Mommy hasn't threatened to start drinking again. Daddy hasn't had to use the phrase, "Remember, two of you are spares!" Sounds like a win-win to me.

And we also need to create a good photograph area for Christmas. I've got the corner picked out. It just needs a few finishing touches to be *perfecto*. I'll need:
- about 12' of baseboard (so at least that particular section looks finished)
- another coat rack (so it doesn't look like we've abducted children from the bus route and piled them willy-nilly in the foyer)
- touch up the paint (because the stuff in the dining room hasn't held up well)
- finish the dining room windows (well, at least clean them and prop them back up)

Ta-Da! A Winter Wonderland Home, in a little corner of my unfinished world. Then I'll carve a little nook out from behind the tree, where I can sit and hide and sing Christmas songs to myself when things get a little overwhelming. If there are enough decorations on the tree, I can even hide bags of chocolate in the limbs of the tree. Really, it'll be quite nice. I think I can leave it there til Easter, too. Pretty exciting.

And what are you doing to prepare for the holidays?

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

It doesn't really matter what you put the kids in front of, they are so good looking no one but you will ever notice the background! This year I'm really hoping the Christmas decorating fairy will stop by our home and fill it with a perfect Martha Stewart decorating job. If that doesn't pan out I'm not sure what I'll do.

Jenni said...

Do they have to be Christmas-y pics? I like to take our family photos (when we do them) outside with the fall leaves. They can be completely casual, too. Kids playing in a pile of leaves might make a great picture and keep the kids smiling at the same time. I like the collage idea, too.

It's funny you should mention the family pics for Christmas cards. It's what caused the big toot with SIL. Yay! I just love having my picture taken. Adding dh, the kids, and 3 or 4 more people is oh so much more fun. Even more fun when you realize you cannot give these photos to your own mom and brother and maybe not even let them see them since you didn't get pictures taken with them as well as the inlaws. Just your crew though? Could be fun! Do you have a friend who can come take pics of you and Zorak playing in the leaves with the kiddos? That would be really cute.

H said...

OK - Go to Walmart and get a flat sheet (for maybe $5) in a color that will complement your children. (Or black. Black always works.)

Set them in front of the sheet and take the pictures!

We've done the collage thing too. And you know that recently I've taken to sticking the boys' heads onto movie posters.

Like this:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4947/1091/320/Christmas%20Card%20Image.0.jpg

We've done a different movie for the past 3 years, but this is the only one online.

Our favorite year, though, was when we all jammed into one of those photo booths. I'd call out "goofy!" "Serene!" "Happy!" Some different emotion for every picture. Then we used those to make a collage. That was fun, and it didn't matter if we weren't looking at the camera. :)

Have fun!

Anonymous said...

Awww...so nice...winter...in sunny singapore, all we get is occasionaly rainy months, other than that is hot hot hot...

hmmmm...must really try to get a chance to touch snow....

Meliss said...

Oh thanks for the chuckle! I'll have to remember the "two of you are spares" line. :) I am sooo not into holiday decorating, but the whole Christmas tree thing sounds more tolerable the way you put it ~ if it could be a hiding place for me and my chocolate.

Staci Eastin said...

The Christmas tree, this year, goes downstairs in the play room (i.e. out of my hair).

I'm going to get some lighted garlands for upstairs and call it a day.

The collage sounds like a fabulous idea. I may try that this year.

Kathy Jo DeVore said...

Ernie tells Jared he used to have an older brother, but his older brother didn't behave properly, so we gave him away. *sigh* Ernie's a sick man.

As for the finishing touches for a good photograph area, I just have one word for you: Photoshop!

Emily (Laundry and Lullabies) said...

Dy, I think your hidey hole behind the Christmas tree sounds delightful. Maybe I'll do that this year too. :)

We just did our Christmas photos yesterday - and of course, I blogged about it!

mere said...

LOL at the "two of you are spares" comment!

I think I might actually try to arrange a family portrait this year, but that's about as much thought as I have put into it.

mere