Holiday photo bomb

Children in a family are like flowers in a bouquet: there's always one determined to face in an opposite direction from the way the arranger desires. ~Marcelene Cox 

A few weeks ago I got to spend some time with the O'Brien family. I was invited to Thanksgiving and I offered to take some family photos. Mr. & Mrs. O'Brien have 3 grown children, the oldest two whom are married with kids. Their vibrant Irish family has grown over the years, and their personalities are as big as their blue eyes. 

Probably 1/3 of the family actually wanted to suffer through a family portrait session while the other 2/3 wanted to eat, drink, and have fun. But despite their slight unwillingness, they are a very close-knit family so I knew they would ultimately appreciate the end result. We finally got everyone in "matching" attire (white shirts and blue jeans) and wrangled them into the backyard. 

As is the case with most large family portrait sessions, some just wanted to smile and get it over with, some felt the whole thing was awkward, some loved being in the spotlight, and some tried everything they could to get the others to cooperate and smile. Photographing big families is kinda like herding cats some days :) 

Anyway, despite the terrible afternoon sun and slim pickings for backgrounds, we got a few photos that I loved and I hope they do too! The one overwhelming thing you can sense about this family is that they truly love each other. Thank you to the O'Brien's for letting me capture your family essence! 

Of course, no photoshoot would be complete without a funny outtake.....and the O'Brien's did it Irish style...beers in hand! I think my friends at www.photographerdepot.com would appreciate this one! They are having a contest for the best Christmas card outtake. I think this one fits! Although, knowing the O'Brien's, they may use it!