Say Cheese (Or Not)

This morning, we ventured out into the glorious sunshine to have Lauren's portrait taken. "What?", you may be asking. We are most certainly not formal portrait kind of folks, but at a charity event for the Santa Ana Zoo last summer, I bid in the silent auction for a photo session with a "renown" children's photographer. With a stated value of $1,000, I put the first bid down at $100 and never thought about it again. Until we learned that we had won, of course. That's when we found out it was a "renaissance" portrait studio. You know, the kind where nobody's allowed to smile and frozen expressions are then hung over someone's fireplace. Not exactly our style, but since it was already paid for, I thought, what the heck.

Lauren got gussied up in her finest dress and we were off.

While in the waiting room before her session, she warmed up her posing muscles.




[Clearly, she thought the session was going to be more America's Next Top Model and less The Addams Family]

Once in the studio, the photographer was actually super sweet, and Lauren did a great job of taking direction (I wouldn't have lasted as long as she did).

Of course, a 4-and-three-quarters-year-old (that's how old she'll tell you she is now if you ask) can only make "quiet" faces for so long. As soon as the photographer took a quick break to change out the memory card in the camera, Lauren let me know exactly how she felt about not being able to give a tooth-baring grin for the camera.



So Lauren actually had a good time and I'm kinda excited to see the proofs. As part of what we won at the charity event, we get a 8x14 print on canvas. Where we'll put it, I have no idea. But wherever it ends up will be just perfect, I'm sure.