The First Family

No, I haven't been commissioned by the Obamas☺, but I do finally have a family session under my belt. I had to turn down a handful of requests for shoots this fall because I've maxed out any free time with a couple classes...which also account for my limited blogging this month (take a moment to wipe your tears. hehe). But I'm hoping that by this time next year, I will have launched Christina McGuire Photography into an official biz, easing in with limited engagements until my munchkins are both in school. In the meantime, my obnoxious click-click-clicking can be heard from afar at get-togethers with family and friends. Practice makes [aspiring-to-be-closer-to-] perfect.

This past weekend, my family gathered for the annual Walk and Roll for ALS in memory of my Uncle David, who lost his devastating battle with Lou Gehrig's Disease. It wasn't until a few years later that I met my cousins Chad & Melissa, when our grandparents remarried. They never had the chance to meet my wisecracking uncle, yet every year, they bring their little ones and walk with us in support.♥ So this weekend, we met a little early to grab some family shots.

My biggest challenge was posing...sans the Sears Portrait Studio feel. Kids are usually pretty easy, especially if there's just one or two of them; they strike their own adorable stances without too much direction. But add in mom & dad and I had a couple options to prep for this session: 1) drop $100 on a highly-acclaimed "UNposing Guide" or 2) spend an evening browsing my favorite photogs' galleries and taking notes. Being the frugalista that I am, you can guess which one I chose. Hopefully it'll get easier. And another important lesson learned: with couples (especially photogenic ones :) and older children who can actually stand still and smile for more than a millisecond, it's unnecessary to snap 10 frames of the same pose! I am just so used to doing this with the little ones who dart every which way, but I'm finding myself spending entirely too much time culling through this upload (A or B? B or C?? like sitting with that giant spoon over one eye at the optometrist).

A few of the the A, B & Cs...