Temptation

I packed Baby A up yesterday and we headed to Wal-Mart for her six month photos. The last time we took 'professional' photos at Wal-Mart I think I spent over a hundred dollars. I hadn't planned on spending that much. We only wanted a family shot to send to our friends and family for Christmas. Audrey was only two months old and she was not nearly as photogenic as she is now. In our family shot she looks like a frightened little monkey. Really. I'm not kidding. So they took the six extra shots of her on her own. Well. Although she looked bored in every picture she was still a whole lot cuter than in the family shot. What could I do? I ended up with a bigger package than I had planned on. I will say that I sent almost every single picture out to my friends and family. So maybe it was worth the money.

Now today, I walked into that store feeling strong, confident. I would tell the photographer that I only wanted the package for $8.95, I would not spend more money. Baby A was wearing the dress seen here. I took off her tights so her cute little bare feet would be in the picture. We picked the background, sat her up against the little baby stabilizer thingy which hides under the fuzzy blanket. The photographer shook a toy, Audrey smiled like an angel, the flash went pop and we had our shot. Thank you and goodbye. The picture showed up on the display screen, I saw that it was adorable. She had a cute smile and her little toes were all spread apart the way the do and I was pleased. That is when I should have picked her up and left, only I didn't.

“I'm just going to take six more shots.” she says. I should have said “Why, so you can bait me into spending more money?” which is exactly what happened. I can't explain it. The very next shot she took was the best one. I don't know what it was. Maybe the lighting was better or she tried a little harder to get a better expression but it was so cute. It was at this point I knew I was in trouble. She tried new backgrounds, new positions. Audrey just kept smiling the same gorgeous smile. I ooohhed and aaahhed. Finally we were done. I knew what was coming. I knew I wouldn't have the willpower to say “No thanks” to the better, more adorable pictures. In the end my $8.95 package was over $50.00.

I know it's not the Wal-Mart photographers fault. They train her to do it. I can imagine the training.

“Okay, make sure the first shot is cute, but not to cute, you know. Like, don't try to hard to make her smile, and make sure you use the crappy lighting. Then, when you start into the extra shots make sure you pull out all the stops. The lights, the toys. Stand on your head if you have to. Just make sure that those customers can't live without EVERY SINGLE EXTRA PICTURE you take. Then show them on the computer just how cute their kid really is. Compliment them. Even if they are the homeliest kid you've ever seen tell them the opposite. Sell, sell, sell. If you don't, we'll need a pound of flesh at the end of your pay period.”

How can any parent resist buying pictures of their beautiful, smiling six month old baby? It was such a welcome improvement to the two month old terrified monkey pictures. I couldn't help myself.