You stood in line with your best friends comparing what 'package' you got. My parents almost always purchased the cheapest one: F (like in failure, whereas the biggest package was A; yep, just like the grade and who doesn't really want an A). I convinced my parents once and a while to buy bigger packages, probably by complaining to them that they thought 'I wasn't cute enough for the bigger packages' when in all reality those picture packages are stinkin' expensive and you bet, just like my parents, Henry got package 'F' too.
When you're finally stand next in line to get your picture taken, the Assistant grabs a comb from the box of black, plastic combs sitting on the folding table, she puts your chin in her hands and combs your hair.
Correction, she re-combed my hair.
If I could go back to the second grade, on the day of school pictures, I would have been like: “WTF? (Just kidding, I didn't swear until the fourth grade) That's my hair, I just looked at it in the bathroom mirror like 20 minutes ago and it looked fine. Now here you go, Assistant to the Photographer, messin' with my do! I wasn't going for the granny style, I was going for the hip/cool second grader look. Do you even know what 'cool' means?”
Of course in real life, I didn't say anything. In fact, I would be mortified if the second grade me said anything that rude to another person. So I can assume this is exactly what happened to Henry as he stood in line, attacked by the Assistant to the Photographer with one of those cheap, black, plastic combs,
he kept his mouth shut,
literally.
Every time I look at this photo I find myself physically trying to sweep his hair over to the side, like it was suppose to be, like it was when I did his hair that morning.
24 comments:
this just brought back memories for me! i think all of our kids have went through this as well as us ourselves.
i got a chuckle though...not laughing at him but with you...his picture is not that bad, just his hair, he had a great smile!
thanks for sharing! your blog is interesting
I would be so annoyed if the portrait people touched my child's hair! Those school photos are a mess anyway. He's a cutie!
You just transported me back to those horrible days of picture taking.
Curly hair + comb to dry curly hair= Frizz ball and ugly ugly picture.
Wahhhhhhhh.
That's funny. When I was in school long, long ago, they didn't have assistants for "fix" us up first.
When he is older you will both laugh at the picture and will be glad you have it (well maybe...)
My picture was the one is fourth grade when I had a new dress that had the cutest little matching jacket. I had forgotten it in class--the asked the teacher if I may please get it for the picture she refused I cried--I have the ugly picture to prove it=(
School pictures are such a scam...you can't have the only kid not actually buying a "package" but they've gotten so out of control that you have to start saving 6 months in advance! Forget it if you have 2 kids in school..."sorry Toyota, my kids had class pictures this month, I couldn't make the car payment"...ugh!
He is so cute it doesn't matter that his mouth is shut :) But I can relate - our first "school" picture last year was bizarre - it didn't even look like my son at all, lol. I still have it up on the mantle and as I look at it every day I cross my fingers that this year's will turn out better!
My school was the same way! The gym/lunch room combo. And yes, my parents definitely got the cheap package to.
Loved this post, can so relate.
Ugh! The memories!
Poppping in from SITS, now following you.
I don't buy school portraits for my children anymore. I take the pictures myself and design something in Photoshop and send them out. I was very unhappy the last couple of times tey took school pics and I'm not spending money on something I'm not going to send out to family.
I remember the combs but I thought they let you use them yourself. What the heck?
I still think he's adorable!
LOL - when you came up on my dashboard and it had just the picture and the beginning of your post - my first thoughts were what's wrong with his hair.
My hair was so thick that photographers didn't dare come near my hair with those little combs!
My little guy has smiled like Elvis in his last two school pictures. Lip up on one side and one eyes squinted. It's so funny looking!
Cute pic though!
He looks cute and you know it! I'm always disappointed in my kid's school pictures until the next years come, then I look back and think, they were so much better last year.
Kira and Izzy had their pictures taken yesterday at school, and I took Emma in when they did their preschooler shots. As we were leaving I heard the photographer say
"Wow, that was 507 shots that I took today, I've never taken that many pictures before!"
Well, I am no longer excited to get those "F"ing expensive packages back this year.
BTW Beth,
I really do have the worst camera, I just have a little secert called picnik.com. It's like Adobe for dummies (like me). Trust me, you can make ANY picture look great there.
Thanks for coming to visit!
I can't think of a single school picture I took growing up that doesn't make me shudder for one reason or another. I never (in my opinion) took a good one. EVER.
AHAAHAHAHA!!
This is great! I remember that Assistant to the Photographer AND her little box of combs. And it always seemed that picture day was 5 days BEFORE everybody went to the nurse's office for the mandatory lice check...any connection?
I suppose it would have been helpful for me whose hair scatters when looked at but still no one should be attacked with tiny plastic combs.
I think the Rambler might have actually been looking at *my* photos when she came up with her hair math.
Last year I took my son to Penney's (the school he was attending didn't do photos). They were *awesome*, especially since
A) I could be there (i.e., no laser looks of doom into the camera)
B) Even though he protested, we brought his guitar (loved those!!!) and
C) No box of black plastic combs.
It's a good thing he's still a handsome little man.
School pictures are the worst. They put Izzy's hair in a barrette and then pointed it straight up..plus they did them outside in the sun.
Thanks, but no thanks to the squinting, fake smiling little girl with her hair sticking straight up!
Oh, and Nat had tears in her eyes!
Hahahaha! That is awesome. He looks so Henry.
I love his picture!
Really, for real? You would hope that your parents bought the "big package"? I never even thought nor cared about what was bought.
All my grade school pics were taken in winter and I always had really chapped lips and looked like a deer caught in headlights. Most of the time, my mother never even bought the photos because I took such horrible pics!
He's a doll!!!!!
I remember for school pictures, just concentrating on not smiling so my buck teeth would show. Seriously.
Our oldest came home from Kindergarten last year with similar pics. The photo of him was a dream. Perfect in every way... with one exception. His mouth was shaped like he'd been sucking on a lemon seconds before. Needless to say, we did retakes.
That's ok Beth. At least you got pictures. Annika was sick that day.
They took her money the next day and cashed our check, but she never got her picture taken. I still don't know when re-takes are...but sure as hell am gonna get my $38.50 back if they don't take her picture.
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