All week long I wanted to shoot. One day when I could stand it no longer I dragged my son out to model for me.  He was down right angry with me for yanking him from his air conditioned room to the sticky icky heat of Florida summer.

I tried to joke with him, and make him smile, which he did for short moments, but as a whole he just gave me a grumpy face.  His famous smirk turned in to a new look. The "I can't believe you are forcing me to do this" look.  The longer we stayed out, the more grumpy he got and the more frustrated I got with him. I was making him do something he didn't want to do, and it wasn't something that he needed to do like brushing his teeth. Eventually I said "Fine, let's go home."

I was disappointed and let down that he didn't share my excitement and interest in playing with my photography. I was frustrated that he couldn't understand that I can produce quality images for me and my family to have for years to come. I was upset that he didn't feel about photography the way I did. That going out and shooting was fun and could be a mini adventure. Time we were spending together, just the two of us.

Whoah! I had to pull in the reigns. Photography is MY thing not his. I've had this train of thought before. My children are what my industry calls "A photographer's child."  They get sick of having a camera in their face. They grow weary of having to be dragged away from their interests to participate in the parent's.  "Sit up straight, turn your head, smile, no give me a real smile, OK, straighten back up, lean forward. OK, look at me, wait stay just like that, You moved, chin up, no not that much". OK, I get it, how could this be fun for a child who has no interest in modeling? It's not. It's a chore, I turned it in to a chore.

So how am I to document my family's lives? Well, by documenting the candid moments. I am understanding that they don't have to sit a certain way and look at me a certain way. Why can't I just bring my camera along and let them do what they do? Wouldn't those images be more sentimental? More fun to look back on than having every photo a posed picture?

Posed pictures are important, don't get me wrong, they produce a nice solid traditional portrait, but not every photo taken needs to be posed to be enjoyed. Actually some of the most memorial portraits out there are candid and care free.

I have been frustrated with my children's cooperation for a while now, and I think it's finally clicked. I need to let them be who they are and really just save the posed photos for once or twice a year. Just like my clients. I'm not hired every couple of weeks by the same clients to take portraits. They book once maybe twice a year. Maybe another if I'm running a seasonal special or they have a special event they want captured. I should not be expecting my kids to be models when they are not models. Lesson learned.