2013 Christmas - Cavanaugh Cousins on a Couch

Well, on our camera alone we had about 11 different shots of this group. I know that at least 2 other people were snapping shots rapid fire with cell phones or cameras so I'm sure there are different angles of this picture out there. Maybe one of them was "perfect." I doubt it, though.

As is nearly always the case, getting kids to sit still and smile well for a picture is like herding cats. With this many cats ... er ... kids in the mix? Mission Impossible. I knew right off the bat it wasn't going to be easy with the way Owen started off. He flat out wasn't cooperating. Didn't want to take any more photos and was pouting and scowling for the first 5 shots or so. Then Jesse entertained him by bolting off the couch before the shoot was done and O was good after that (for whatever reason). Andrew and Logan were hit or miss throughout (Andrew squirming with boredom and Logan smiling his cheesy grimace/smile for half the time and looking somewhere else the other half). Heck, everyone on the couch was noticeably failing by shots 8 through 11. You can't blame them. These kinds of historical shots are only cool to the adults. They'll understand in a decade or two. Getting them altogether for this kind of photo will only get harder as the years go by.

So, I took an early version of the kids (with a scowling Owen and Andrew looking elsewhere) and worked a little Photoshop magic (I "disappeared" Max's head from the bottom of the frame as well). I think it turned out all right. Behold the 2013 Christmas Cousins on a Couch Crew!