To Pay or Not to Pay...

That is the question.

Tomorrow is school portrait day. Eck.

For a mom who's constantly shooting my kids (photos of them, that is...), I have a hard time wanting to spend money on the traditional school photo. Tomorrow's photo shoot will consist of 5 or 10 seconds spent with my child (times two because both of my girls are at school now)to capture a "genuine" smile. They'll be herded like little calves and given as much personal attention as a calf being branded.

Okay, so that's a bit morbid, but really... do the photographers have any interest in the internal workings and true personalities of my beautiful girls? Not really. And I guess I wouldn't either if I had the job of photographing hundreds of kids every day (against some NASTY lookin' backgrounds!?! Seriously. Let's upgrade from 1985.).

As a mom, I most cherish the photos that show more of my children than just a forced toothy grin. (And I found one of these classic photos of me when I was about 5 years old that I figured would be fun to share. Yep. I used to be blonde. And do you just love the little gingham dress I'm wearing? My mom made it... the talented woman. And my sister had one to match, too!)

But because the grandparents have photo frames ready and I rarely order actual candid prints anymore (they mostly remain as digital files on my computer), I think I'll shell out the bucks to get some prints to pass to family. And I confess, they're framed here at my house too. But over the years I've come to realize that most my money at formal portrait studios is wasted. And my exploration with my own point and shoot is really where the magic happens.

Say Cheese!