The 30-Try Photo Session

This morning started innocently enough. Sophie was eating breakfast, I was having my coffee, and the light was just hitting the kitchen perfectly. You know that golden hour moment when everything looks Instagram-ready? I had to seize it.

The 30-Try Photo Session

‘One quick photo,’ I said. Famous last words. What followed was thirty attempts of Sophie rolling her eyes, me adjusting my hair, her adjusting her sweater, me checking the angle, both of us dissolving into laughter because Marcus was making faces behind the camera.

The prep work

The prep work alone took fifteen minutes - hair checks, outfit adjustments, me trying to coach Sophie on her ‘natural’ smile while she reminded me that nothing about this was natural.

Attempt number 15

By attempt twenty, we were both questioning our life choices. Sophie threatened to go back to her room, I threatened to post the blurry ones, Marcus threatened to hide his phone. But somewhere around take twenty-eight, we hit our groove.

The review process

The reviewing process became half the fun - scrolling through dozens of photos where one of us was blinking, or talking, or looking anywhere but the camera.

Was it worth thirty tries? Absolutely. Do I have any shame about wanting the perfect shot with my almost-grown daughter? Not even a little. Sophie might act embarrassed, but she was checking her hair in every single one too. The apple doesn’t fall far from the perfectly photographed tree.