Picture Perfect

Christmas Eve 2016 – We decided to take a family photo. Since we had not taken one in over 4 years and it was going to be a gift for a family member, I wanted it to be perfect. I moved the furniture out of the way, strategically placed the lighting, set the camera on the tripod, and focused the camera lens. Running behind schedule, we tried to quickly capture a frame-worthy shot before our evening guests arrived.

Our all-day guest agreed to help us with the photo, so we asked him to push the shutter release button. He happily snapped away as I barked orders at everyone, trying not to look panicked. My husband, wanting to get this photo done as fast as possible and needing to lighten the mood, waited until my back was turned and covertly directed the children into amusing poses.

Plastering on our best smiles and trying to keep our eyes open, we struggled to keep up with the impromptu shots of our well-meaning amateur photographer. Needless to say, we ended up with blurry, closed eyed, hands in the air, open-mouthed pictures.

As I sat down to choose an image, I realized that each snapshot had something wrong with it. I got a little discouraged. It was a huge ordeal to get everyone in the same place, at the same time, and in coordinated outfits, so I had no intentions of calling a replay of our photo session. Yep, one of these flawed masterpieces would have to be good enough.

After hours of editing – reconstructing washed out eyes, covering major blemishes, fixing background imperfections, and sharpening blurry sections – I sent the photograph to the store for printing. I waited anxiously, fully prepared to be disappointed with my less-than-perfect creation.

I carefully opened the photo envelope and reluctantly pulled the picture out.  As I looked at the finished product, I noticed something I had missed during my editing frenzy.

We all looked happy.

Even my husband and son, who are notorious for having looks of goofiness and/or annoyance on their faces in almost every snapshot we take, looked like they were gladly participating in this fumbled operation.

I just had to laugh. In the craziness of that evening photo session, we were having fun and enjoying being a family.

I put a copy of the photo on my desktop, in the 4-slot collage frame that holds pictures of my most treasured loved ones, and I smile every time I look at it.

It fits perfectly.