Gosh, as I sit here remembering, this time, I cannot believe how much of my life has changed. I think it was in 1995 that the craziest family photo disaster occurred. Then, I belonged to a large family. My mother-in-law wanted a family portrait to replace the dated one on her living room wall. The original captured nine people, primarily adults, a few teens, and a small baby. Now, we were organizing an event. Coordinating colors and arranging arrival times for twenty-one people.
The colors selected were earth tones. It would blend in well with the decor in most of our homes, especially my in-laws. The appointment was made and the phone tree ran steadily for seven days, reminding and touching bases to see what everyone was wearing. It was a production.
The evening before picture day, the men: my father in law, brother in-laws and husband all hit the basketball court for some friendly competition. This would prove to be a mistake.
While the women made last-minute adjustments to outfits and gathered for girl talk, the men ran the court. They established well-executed defensive and offensive teams. Everyone seemed to be enjoying this time together.
The next afternoon, those who didn’t work confirmed the appointment, picked up last-minute accessories. Around two o’clock, three hours before our photograph was to be taken, my father in-law came home. His face was distorted to the point he looked more like the elephant man than the man who had left for work this morning.
When asked about his disfigurement he said that last night while they played basketball, his son, in an offensive play, bumped his head, by accident, into the side of my father in law’s face. He had gone to work and late in the morning, used a Kleenex to blow dust out of his nose. Apparently, the bump to the cheek had cracked the nose bone to the point that when my father-in-law blew his nose, it inflated that side of his face!
The thought of this face on Holiday Cards caused some of us giggled while others were in horror at the thought!
We tried ice packs and everything, however, in the end, my brother-in-law and his family would not be able to reschedule due to military schedules and so the picture was taken.
Instead of turning my father-in-law so that his mutated face wasn’t as obvious, the photographer centered him in the picture…full frontal.
We were all in dark clothes (chocolate browns and evergreens) and instead of giving us a white or light background, we were set against a dark background–a navy or a dark brown.
When the pictures arrived, my father-in-law’s face had returned to normal. The picture, however, captured his inflated face. Thankfully, there were a lot of faces in the picture to sort of distract from the disfigurement…and it was dark…very dark.
Somewhere, in photo books now spread across the country, that photo remains. A memory captured that tells the story of our craziest family photo disaster.
The Holiday season is approaching and one of my favorite things is the photo cards sent from family and friends. Shutterfly wants to help everyone get the best family photos possible. While they can’t prevent crazy things like inflating faces, they are offering an interactive promotion that shares how you can get the best pictures through their Family Photo Days campaign!
It’s the perfect was to capture the magic and share with others on cards or personalized photo gifts. Just look at what’s in store throughout November:
- Digital Toolkit posted online to help start the creativity! It’s downloadable so it’s there when you’re ready.
- House Parties through Sponsor Families. Creating Family Photo Day right in their own homes!
- Sponsor mother’s groups around the country will congregate and take family photos for their holiday cards.
- Contests with five winners (based on photo categories like Best Funny photo, Most Unique, etc.)
- Exclusive partner offers for those who choose to participate
To learn more about Shutterfly’s Family Photo Days, please visit their website.