Smile! Awkward School Photos

The daycare that my daughter attends ranges from infant all the way up through Kindergarten.  Perhaps for this reason, each fall they have the equivalent of school photos.  The photographic studio they used this year is the same company that took many of my school photos when I was growing up.  Being mother of the year, I forgot that it was picture day until I walked into the classroom at drop off and saw how cute all the other kids looked.  My poor child was in need of a haircut or at least pigtails and still had some of her breakfast on her face.  On the upside, she was at least wearing a cute outfit...but only because the play clothes I had planned on for that day were too small.  Since they had seen better days, it was fortunate that they were more than a smidge too small, because I have been known to send her in clothes that are on the cusp.  Clothes are expensive!  But I digress.  I wiped her face (I would have done this anyway, regardless of photos, I swear!) and her teachers very kindly let me know that she could get retakes the very next day, as the photographer would still be on-site.  At pick up, I learned that my little momma did her best that day to get her friends to smile for their photos. The next day we arrived promptly, nicely dressed and with her hair combed into pigtails.  She very graciously allowed me to put the pigtails in that morning, which is not the norm.  Then she refused to smile for her photos.  Her teacher was jumping around like crazy in the background trying to get her to crack a smile for even a split second.  (Her teacher is the best, love her!  It must have been hysterical watching her jump around.)

As a result of all this, I was kind kind of anxiously awaiting the proofs.  We got them last night.  There are two sets.  In the ones where her hair is a little goofy (so clearly in need of a trim!), she has an angelic smile.  In the ones where she is spiffed up, she is making faces.  One has a hint of a smile.  So I am in a quandary as to whether to buy any of them! 

Seeing the proofs really took me back to my own school photos.  I remember having them taken, thinking that I looked fine.  Then getting the proofs and seeing that my hair was sticking up or my collar was pointing in a funky direction or I was caught mid blink.  I still think those photographers should have fixed the obvious and simple things.  Like collars.  Or they should have at least mentioned it and given me a chance to quickly fix it myself.  I would say 85% of my school pictures were cringe-worthy, and I sincerely believe that there are others who feel the same way.  I hope, for my daughter's sake, that digital photography has eliminated at least some of these issues, like the eyes half mast or mid-sneeze photos.  For the other things, like her mother forgetting it was picture day when she was a toddler, well, I guess she's out of luck.  I never would have thought that this would start so early, at least I was five before I had my first school photo.  I feel a little bad that there is the potential for more of these embarrassing photos for my daughter than there were for me.  Oh well...let the awkward school photos begin!