Part One: Booking

1. Suddenly realize that you wanted to get family photos done in time for holiday cards. Discover that photographer who did the photos you loooooved last year isn’t in the biz anymore.    Sigh deeply.  Google family photographers.  Google them forever and ever and ever and ever…
2. Find a photographer whose style makes you gasp. She’s perfect.  She’s divine.  She’s…moved out of state and Google’s results have not updated her location.  Wipe away that speck of dust from your eye.  It’s going to be okay.  You will persevere.
3. Try very hard not to go back to that photographer’s site just to double check and make sure she’s really, really, truly gone. Triple check.
4. Rejoice! You find a photographer within your budget (a miracle!) who has one last mini-session slot available (double-miracle!).  Send PayPal funds so fast, you’re like a family photo session booking wizard.
5. Fist pump. Let’s do this.

Part Two: Preparation

6. Assess family member wardrobes for matching items, but not TOO matchy-matchy, but really anything without holes in the knees would do
7. Order a cardigan for your daughter and realize too late that it’s so backordered the estimated shipping date is the same day as your photo session. Take deep, calming breaths.  Play the Enya Pandora station.
8. Buy a new shirt for your partner that will match with other selected family outfits.
9. Convince partner the above was Necessary.
10. The next day, be gifted an adorable smocked holiday dress by a beloved family member for your daughter that does not match with the chosen family ensemble, but which would go terribly wasted if not worn right now when it fits.
11. Eye the new shirt. Maybe it could match.  If people don’t look too hard…
12. Consider sending non-photo holiday cards. Those are fun.  They do not require Sessions and Matching Outfits and Enya.
13. Discover Enya lives in a CASTLE. Consider moving to castle.  It would make a great family holiday photo session location.

Part Three: The Day Of

14. The cardigan has shipped early and arrives in the nick of time to be waaaaay too big for your toddler (oh right, you were ordering smartly so it would last all season…drat). Fold away to give said toddler as a Christmas gift instead.
15. Smudge lipstick.
16. Discover sweater you yearned for and caved into buying is itchier than you anticipated.
17. Silently curse the traffic, is every single person in the city out on the roads today, we are going to be late, oh my gosh we’re going to miss our photo session.
18. Arrive on time, looking good, that Orinoco Flow jamming happily as you pull into the parking lot of the designated park.
19. Look cute. You are here, now, together.    Grin.  Mean it, effortlessly.
20. Sail away, sail away, sail away