Child ruins every picture!

[Magpie]

Like the OP, I would have been upset if every single picture was like that.

No, I wouldn't look back and laugh at them. No I wouldn't enjoy them all the more in future. In fact, in the future it would remind me how the child wouldn't listen to her parents even for one stinking picture.

Of course, after a few pictures, I would have asked her not to join us in the picture. She would have received another chance to pose without - her tongue out-eyes crossed-bunny ears-whatever she was doing. But if she was still doing it, I would again ask her not to join us.

Sorry, if I was paying all that money, I would like a couple "grandma shots." Where everyone is posing nicely.

If photographic perfection means that much to you, then I think yes - leave her out of the photos. After all, it's not really about recording accurate memories of the trip - you'll have ride photos and candid shots for that sort of thing.

As a parent, I often chose to pick my battles. So I'm guessing perfect photos were less of a big deal to the child's parents, than they were to the OP. That's unfortunate. Either the parents were not aware of the OP's frustration, or they didn't care. If it's the first, better communication between the OP and the parents might have helped. If it's the second... well, some people just don't care, or they think it's no big deal, or they are amused. And you won't change their opinions, so leaving the girl out is your only option.

"Oh, that photo? That's our family trip to Disney World. Aren't we just the perfect family? Where's little Sally? Oh, she was there, but I didn't allow her in the photo, because I didn't like the faces she made. I won't have any of that nonsense in my family photos!"

(Honestly, Sally might be relieved and happy to skip the family photos, so it's win-win for everyone!)

 

[xlxo]

Blame the photographer????!!!! That's what my cousin does.

Personally, I prefer photoshaming.
https://www.google.ca/search?q=dog+shaming&tbm=isch

I volunteer to take the annual office Santa pictures.

1. let the parents know what's happening. Some parents are OK, while others are not. Parents will be there to discipline the child.
2. take some "fun" pictures (it's digital anyways). After a half dozen, appeal to the kid to see if they are willing to give you a proper image.
3. Noise makers.... how old is the child? Typically 2 or 3 year olds have their heads turn. A sudden noise will get their eyes wide open and looking at the camera.
4. Yell their name. I have a images with kids "fear of death" look. Not quite a smile.... but the results are better than the alternative. Don't expect Disney or paid photographers to do this.... so perhaps another family member may be necessary.

I get a lot of compliments afterwards that I'm able to get the picture that no other mall Santa photographer has been able. There are many who come to see me for their annual portraits after Santa has gone for the day.

 

[aprilchem]

My opinion is that it depends on if her parents told her to stop it or not. If they did and she didn't listen, then in my house that would mean a punishment. If they didn't care, then there's not much you can say unless you brought it up yourself and asked her not to do it.

Last year we went to Turks and Caicos and my 8 year old son refused to smile (and sometimes be in) pictures. He is old enough to understand the request, was not overly tired, and knows that we have consequences in our house. So we took the pictures without him and he sat out for the next fun activity we did as his punishment. In our house consequences are enforced all the time, even on vacation. I know not everyone agrees with that but it's the way we run our house.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Keep in mind that the child made a face in Every Single Photo.

Sorry but a 12 year old should understand that Grandma wants at least one "nice" picture.

 

[brooke789]

My 5 year old son likes to make funny faces in pictures. My 2 year old likes to pick his nose. I'm not upset about either. When it at is the pics we get it is really what was going on at the time.

One of my fav pics from our WDW trip this month was a family photo we got by the castle and the 2 yeR old was picking his nose the whole time. I changed my Facebook profile pic to this pic zoomed in to just me and him. It was so funny!

 

[Magpie]

Okay, I can't resist a chance at storytime!

After a bit of a rough start emigrating to Canada, my paternal grandfather bought my mother and I plane tickets, so we could fly down to the Gulf Coast to spend time time with him and my grandmother. It was the only time I was going to get to see them, in my childhood, and those two weeks were glorious.

As it also happened, I'd recently read the Hobbit, and the Lord of the Rings, and had LOVED that series of books. I'd heard there was a fifth book, called the Silmarillion, so in a fit of unusual self-discipline, I'd picked up a copy and was saving it for the plane ride back.

Now, my Meemaw hated getting her picture taken. So, we didn't take many photos those two weeks. But on the morning we were due to leave, she decided it was important that we get at least ONE good photo of me and her. A proper Grandma Photo to be hung on the wall. She was prepared to put aside her own intense distaste for portraiture, and make an effort, in order to do this.

Meanwhile, that same morning, feeling a bit woeful about having to leave paradise, I had decided to take a peek at my precious new book. I cracked the cover of the Silmarillion and began to read. And within five pages, I knew I was in over my head. This book that I'd carefully hoarded for weeks, never once looking at in the anticipation of a glorious plane ride back immersed in Middle Earth... it was unreadable. So, by the time my grandma called me down the stairs to pose with her for a Proper Photo, I was in as foul a mood as any young girl can possibly be.

I refused to smile for the photo.

My mother lectured me. She threatened me. She got very, very angry at me. My Meemaw frowned at me. My Pawpaw tried to jolly me. None of it worked. I was wretched. Life was bleak and only going to get bleaker. My Pawpaw said (quite truthfully), "She's sad to be leaving us. Let's take just the photos anyway."

And this is is the awesome result:

Both me and my Meemaw, scowling at each other, a perfect matched set.

I LOVE this photo! I love everything about it. I love it SO much more, than I would have if I'd given in under the weight of all that adult anger and disapproval and actually faked a smile for the camera.

Heck, you know, it was worth my mum being mad at me, all the way back to Canada. (And for many couple years after... it's no coincidence all the photos ended up in my possession. Ha!)

 

[PollyannaMom]

(Honestly, Sally might be relieved and happy to skip the family photos, so it's win-win for everyone!)

If she really didn't want to be in them, I would let her skip most of them. I think @NHdisneylover made a good point above about some kids not wanting to constantly be in pictures at that age. (Though if the adults paying for the trip wanted one special one for Christmas card photos, I would hope she would be grateful enough to do that!)

Letting them skip can be a funny story on it's own, though: A couple of years ago, we were at Great Wolfe Lodge - me, DH, DS, and my nephew. (Background: DS and DN are close in age, and both look a lot like their mutual grandfather. They could almost pass for twins.) So it's the end of November, they'd put up the Christmas decorations in the lobby, and I thought it would be a great idea to get a Christmas card photo. Nephew kindly agrees to take it...The horrified looks that I was forcing one of my kids to stay out and take the picture would have been the real shot to catch! Several people kindly offered to take the photo for us so he could be in it. (We did accept, and have a lovely photo of all of us too!) I'm sure they thought I was extremely weird.

 

[mom2rose&john]

I am still unclear on what mugging for the camera is. Is it the pout lip, looks like a kiss face? That is what my daughter and all her friends do when taking pictures. I don't understand the theory behind it, but it is all the rage. It's unfortunate that you are unhappy with the results. Focus on the positive, you were able to be at Disney with family and will always have those memories.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I hope the OP comes back and clarifies what s/he meant by mugging, because to me that doesn't mean silly, goofy faces. It means 'not smiling.' I've known lots of people who don't smile in staged photos because it feels unnatural for them, and there are plenty of reasons a twelve year old might not want to -- embarrassed of their braces, thinking they look stupid with a big cheesy smile plastered on their face, feeling grumpy after a long day of being micromanaged by adults about everything right down to their unsatisfactory facial expressions...

 

[gwynne]

I hope the OP comes back and clarifies what s/he meant by mugging, because to me that doesn't mean silly, goofy faces. It means 'not smiling.' I've known lots of people who don't smile in staged photos because it feels unnatural for them, and there are plenty of reasons a twelve year old might not want to -- embarrassed of their braces, thinking they look stupid with a big cheesy smile plastered on their face, feeling grumpy after a long day of being micromanaged by adults about everything right down to their unsatisfactory facial expressions...

Mugging = silly, exaggerated faces. Think fishface, sticking out the tongue and wiggling the fingers in your ears, etc.
It has nothing to do with a normal face that isn't smiling.

 

[mom2rtk]

Keep in mind that the child made a face in Every Single Photo.

Sorry but a 12 year old should understand that Grandma wants at least one "nice" picture.

I find myself wondering if Grandma and Grandpa paid for the trip.

Even if they didn't, kind of sad that a twelve-year-old couldn't control herself briefly for grandma's sake.

 

[MariMama]

Are we more interested in capturing the moments and memories of this trip, along with each individuals personality, or are we more interested in a picture perfect looking family to hang on the wall?

Most kids that age make faces at the camera and act silly. Mine did at that age. Her personality will shine thru for years to come, and some day you will laugh about it. And if not, you can blackmail pictures for later.

I want a nice picture of the family on vacation, not one where someone is looking stupid. I would have asked her to step out of the picture if she couldn't behave.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Mugging = silly, exaggerated faces. Think fishface, sticking out the tongue and wiggling the fingers in your ears, etc.
It has nothing to do with a normal face that isn't smiling.

Ah, I'm going to throw this one under the umbrella of "regional differences." In my little corner of the world it has only ever been known to mean not smiling, usually with an air of 'tough guy, I'm too cool to smile.' Then there's mean mugging which is the next level up.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I find myself wondering if Grandma and Grandpa paid for the trip.

Even if they didn't, kind of sad that a twelve-year-old couldn't control herself briefly for grandma's sake.

Exactly.

I absolutely love fun, candid pictures. Crazy faces, joking around, being yourself, all of those are great. I love lookinging back at pictures like that.

But it isn't too much to ask the child to behave, stand up straight, look at the camera and smile, for one picture.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

We can see here in the first picture, Ice Cube is mugging. In the second, he's mean mugging.

 

[HarleenQ]

Ah, I'm going to throw this one under the umbrella of "regional differences." In my little corner of the world it has only ever been known to mean not smiling, usually with an air of 'tough guy, I'm too cool to smile.' Then there's mean mugging which is the next level up.

I was totally thinking mean mugging in the pictures.

 

[CPanther95]

I'm just the opposite. After many years of staged photos with my kids I much prefer the random candid shots of my grandkids. Looking back, those few candid shots are the ones that I wish we had more of.

The staged photos seem to mostly be used to reflect on hairstyles and fashions than on the event surrounding the photos or the kids themselves.

 

[scrapquitler]

I want a nice picture of the family on vacation, not one where someone is looking stupid. I would have asked her to step out of the picture if she couldn't behave.

See, I guess we are just different. I'd rather have a picture that included everyone, if if they were making stupid faces than one that excluded someone.

 

[luvsJack]

This thread, to me, shows sometimes where we can get our priorities messed up We want that "perfect" trip and the "perfect" picture to prove we took that we took that "perfect" vacation and the feelings of our family "be damned". I have paid for Memory Maker (well I think it was Photo Pass back then) and I have gotten all the perfect smiling face in front of the castle. Are those the memories of my trip? Not a chance. I quit paying for those things because I stopped wanting those "perfect" pictures. I wanted the pictures of dd (at 3) pointing her finger at her older brother (17 at the time) and telling him "how it was going to be". I wanted the picture of that same son sitting on the bridge between England and France sound asleep.

Now I get that's not what the OP is talking about. She wanted that perfect family photo to hang on the wall. But isn't the memory of her family all together in WDW and everyone happy and having a good time more important than the perfect picture. I think sometimes we all get so caught up in having photos of the memory that we forget to make the memory in the first place.

 

[gwynne]

Ah, I'm going to throw this one under the umbrella of "regional differences." In my little corner of the world it has only ever been known to mean not smiling, usually with an air of 'tough guy, I'm too cool to smile.' Then there's mean mugging which is the next level up.

Regional differences are around, for sure.
That said, anyplace I've lived in the US and the UK mugging means something very specific, a deliberate exaggerated face.
How would I describe not smiling? Maybe a phrase like a fixed gaze, or a thoughtful expression.

And for the purposed of this thread I could care less if a kid doesn't smile. I just think it's possible to not be the class clown/mugging for one photo for grandma. (Assuming they are over the age of around 9.)