Witching Hour, A Mother’s Story- Seattle Family Photographer

Hello friends!

I really enjoyed this family session. OMG how cute is this little one? She’s like a little peanut- or a sweet potato. She’s just precious, and her name is Maggie, which is so perfect and fitting.

We laughed, we talked about baby poop, and dog poop. They have a St. Bernard that they decided to leave at home, and we talked about how big his poop is. Their little one had a blow out situation when they arrived at their photo shoot, and mom ran her home to change her, she even had to throw her in the bathtub. Dad and I just hung out and b.s.’ed while we waited. I was zero percent upset at them, but I was worried that mom would be extra stressed. She later told me that she had a really rough day before the photo session, and she still made it through and NAILED it. We made it through witching hour- together. I AM PROUD OF YOU. And I am also beyond grateful that you hired me - and shared the story in your own words. So here goes, take it away Casey.

“Infant Photo Shoot- Behind the Scenes

 Thanks to a recommendation from a friend, our family was able to snag the coveted last Fall timeslot with Dawndra for family pictures. I despise all photos of myself, but was willing to make the sacrifice for our six month old baby, Maggie, knowing that I would stare at pictures of her all day if I could.

 Working full time, transitioning her into daycare and dealing with the inevitable daycare illnesses, returning home from a trip earlier that week, and the general exhaustion of navigating new motherhood didn’t leave a lot of time for outfit planning. So the day of our pictures, I was scrambling to find something “coordinating” (but not “matchy”!) for us all to wear. Without a minute to spare, I got our baby into the car seat, husband into the passenger seat, and we headed out.

Maggie gets very tired from being in daycare all day, and “the witching hour” begins pretty much at 4 and continues until bedtime—right when our appointment was scheduled. Already anxious from postpartum anxiety, I was imagining the worst, that she would scream the entire time. Thinking my dire predictions were coming true, Maggie cried the entire car ride on the way there. However, when we arrived, and I went to take her out of her car seat, I found that the issue was more than general tiredness. She had had a blowout. It was all up her back and covering her adorable dress. As all parents know, the rule of blowouts is that they happen at the absolute most inconvenient times, so I was also furious at myself for not anticipating this new level of nightmare. To top it all off, I had been in such a rush that I had left without the diaper bag—not that it would have helped.

 So I had my husband stay at the park to explain the situation to Dawndra—not pausing long enough to wonder how the two of them would find each other having never met before—while I frantically drove back home, threw our baby under the bathtub faucet to clean her off, and searched for a different outfit. By the time I made it back to the park, nearly an hour later through rush hour traffic, Maggie looked great, but I was frazzled and sweaty, with mascara running from crying, hair frizzed, and in a general state of stress.

 Meeting Dawndra for the first time immediately calmed me. To my surprise, she was not furious that we had wasted nearly an hour of her time. She gave me a hug and told me it was all going to be okay. Trying not to cry even more—from relief this time—we set out through the park to take some pictures. 

While I never did fully stop sweating, the experience was far from the torture I had imagined and I found myself relaxing more and more and even enjoying myself. Dawndra put us all at ease, getting baby Maggie to laugh and smile. I have to admit that I didn't think I would like a single photo of myself, especially after that day, and worried that the whole thing had been a waste (there's no way Dawndra could fix that hot mess!), but seeing the photos, she was able to work miracles. When I see the beautiful pictures she took, I see my happy, loving family enjoying nature, a gift I wouldn't change for the world. Even with all the blowouts.”

These guys are just cool as can be, and I am so glad to know them. Thank you for choosing me!