The Photo Shoot

Taryn had her senior pictures taken yesterday. Everything went well, we rode out the few minor road bumps we encountered with the grace I am so well known for (it's ok to laugh right here)...actually, I was pretty freakin' calm considering how it all went down.

At 9:00 our day started when I went up to see what outfits Taryn ended up selecting. Mariah was in there with Taryn and they had outfits laid out with jewelry and shoes. We took off shortly after that for the hair styling appointment. I had asked Taryn what her plans were for her nails and she said she thought she had time to do them before we left. She was under the impression the appt was at 4:30, but it was at 1:30. Yeah, that changes things!

So on the way home, I asked T how long she needed to do her makeup, and calculated that we had just enough time to take her in for a mani/pedi. It was a close call but it turned out to be a really good decision and everytime I saw her hands posed for a photo I was soooo happy we had done it.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I had phoned Mariah during the hair appt and passed along a request from T to come along as a Clothes Caddy and help chose backdrops and stuff like she had done for Indy. Mariah was thrilled, of course. I phoned Mariah again from the nail salon and told her now we were under a real time crunch and she needed to get all the accessories in sandwich baggies and attach them to the hangers of each outfit so the necklaces, rings, and earrings were with the proper outfit. She got a plastic crate and put all the shoes in it, and put each shirt on the loop of the belt of the pants, and the baggie of jewelry she attached to the hanger of the outfit it went with. She did a really great job!

We got home with 20 minutes to spare on the Early Bird Schedule, 30 minutes on the Right On Time Schedule and 40 minutes on the Pushing It Schedule for Taryn to get her make up done, grab a bite to eat, brush her teeth and get everything in the car. Taryn, true to form, made the Early Bird Schedule. Mariah began her assistant duties by helping with things like undoing T's bra, helped clasp the new one, get her dress on, opened make up and handed things to Taryn so she wouldn't mess up the nail polish and stuff like that while I hauled all the clothes and shoes down to the car. Hey, we live to serve the Queen in situations like these!

Only one little problem was discovered on the way to the photo shoot. I asked "did we get everything - shoes, belts, the right bras, etc?" and Taryn said, "you did get my belt didn't you?!" and Mariah was all, "what belt?!" Oh no! Taryn was pretty sure her pants would not stay up right without it and I debated whether or not I could drop the girls off, go home and back before she needed that outfit. It would take me an hour so I decided not and phoned Mike figuring we'd make do if he couldn't get away. Luckily, Mike came through, found the belt hidden under something in Taryn's room which is how Mariah missed it.

The photo shoot started with us in a 4 girl rotation, which I kind of thought was a bit of a puppy mill. No major snags. We refused to put on the cap for the cap and gown photos because A) it'd mess up her hair and the rest of the photos follow that - stupid planning as usual when I'm not in charge and B) We don't want a cap & gown photo anyway.

The first roadbump was no biggie, but it would have helped if I had my reading glasses to speed the recovery time up. The chain of a necklace Taryn had taken off and needed to put on again had gotten all tangled up. After a few minutes I had most of it out and Taryn's young eyes finished the rest. Whew!

About halfway thru the indoor shoot, we hit another roadbump. I was checking the dress for the outdoor photo and saw some major wrinkleage going on. I'm like, hello?! Remember when I said let me know if I need to steam anything? Taryn says she likes it that way. Well, that may be the case for YOU, but this photo is going on MY wall, and for the next 30 years or so, that wrinkled dress is going to drive me crazy. As I was trying to smooth and pull out the worst of the wrinkles, some lady came over and offered to plug in an iron. The shirt for the other outfit of the outdoor portion of the shoot, and mind you, the outdoor shots are the ones we REALLY care about because that's where I'm hoping to get THE shot for my wall....was passable, but a little touch of an iron at the hem and collar wouldn't hurt. So Mariah went with Taryn for the next set of poses and helped choose the backdrops for that outfit while I was madly ironing on a countertop as fast as I could.

Roadbump #3 came along when Taryn was changing into that blouse and we were preparing to drive over to the castle for the outdoor photos. The blouse has a side zipper that got totally stuck. Mariah and I spent about 5 minutes coaxing and pulling it. Finally we got it....and then the middle of the zipper split. Rather than go though all that again and be late, I decided just to safety pin the spot closed.

We arrived at the castle. This is where the Taylor Swift video was shot. Mariah was excited to romp around on sacred ground! She even took her own video on her cell phone to remember the moment. It was hot outside and I'm hoping the sheen doesn't show too much on Taryn's face in the castle shots because they looked like they might be really good. The photographer had a few minutes because the next person wasn't there yet and we got to see all the outdoor shots of Taryn and I saw some really good ones in there! YAY!!

It was a fun, but long day! I am glad I have a bit of a break before Gib has his, and even then, I know the hair and nails won't be taking as long!!