We have a family ritual on my birthday of going to a restaurant that has a wall of mirror windows nearby. Because it is my birthday, my family indulges me a 5-minute photo shoot.
Up above is our first family "selfie" in that window, before the selfie trend was born. It must be from 2010. Since then we've taken quite a few more, to varying degrees of success. In the process, I realize that family selfies can hold life lessons. Here are a few:
- try to catch the best light;
- be careful what you focus on, not the car in the background, the person walking, or the back of someone's head;
- keep it centered;
- keep the camera subtle;
- stay close to each other, but not so close that personalities get stifled;
- a little blur is not such a bad thing;
- black and white can be nice and simple;
- shut the van door;
- get up close, but not too close;
- point straight ahead;
- look straight ahead;
- try to keep the family front and center;
- let John be;
- be mindful of June's legs;
- don't let Clara hide;
- enjoy Will's expressions, subtle as they may be;
- don't cover up Jeff;
- catch the moment quickly - it's fleeting;
- hope for the best!
PS - These are more pictures than you care to see. Only in two did we half-way get it right. The others drive home the points above, in photos as in life.
