Outtakes

Autumn is officially upon us and you know what that means - family picture season is in full swing!  Everyone wants that beautiful photo with the layered fall clothing and the changing leaves and the sweet light of evening. Yet so many women live in absolute fear of family picture day - completely terrified to step in front of the camera.  Today I attempt to assuage your fear - by telling you the truth:

Outtakes happen to everyone.

It's not the end of the world.

You are still a beautiful person.

There it is, plain and simple truth.  And just to illustrate my point, here are some photos of Eleanor - easily the cutest baby in the world.

I'm sorry, was there some confusion as to whether or not she is actually the cutest baby in the world?

Let me clear that up for you:

Now, as I was saying...Ellie is the cutest baby in the world, and even she has her fair share of outtakes.  They really do happen to all of us.

Ah, the eyes closed.  Very common.

Also typical - the you-caught-me-just-before-a-bite shot.

Let me assure you, these photos are nothing to be ashamed of.  Your photographer has seen it all before.

Sometimes it's just the wrong face, wrong angle, wrong shutter speed - nothing went right, and that's OK.

This one is the real heart breaker, though.  It appears to be a great picture of yourself...

..until you notice an inappropriate amount of cleavage is showing.

Some days you are just really tired, and it just really shows.

Other days you are feeling bald and self conscious and the last thing you need is a creepy man sneaking into your photo and messing it up.

In the end, my only advice is to relax.  Just know that there will be outtakes and don't worry about them.  Smile from the heart and all that jazz.  Take a deep breath and trust that your photographer loves you (and your money) and wants to showcase your best self.  Your photographer will take care of you.

Though I can't promise you that any photographer will ever love you as much as this one loves her girl.