You may have seen a photo series circulating around the internet recently called “Best Case Scenarios” depicting parenthood in a hyper realized state. Messy, comical and completely over-the-top but somehow way more realistic than the perfect family photo your friend sent on this year’s holiday card of her Stepford children all smiling in matching sweaters.
“Clean Up in Aisle Five!”
The photographer is Danielle Guenther, a fellow mom of a 5 year-old from Hoboken, New Jersey, who had been shooting lifestyle photography for ten years before she started the “Best Case Scenario” series. Danielle not only agreed to an interview, she suggested a photo shoot scenario for me, Mike, Mazzy and Harlow. Oh, boy.
“Day at the Spa”
How did the first “best case scenario” shoot come about? Was it the request of a client? Or did you come up with the idea and seek someone out for the shoot?
It happened sorta by accident, really. At the end of a regular lifestyle session I had with a client, she laid down on the couch, pretended to be sleeping, laughing at being exhausted. We then both decided we had to go with this, so it turned into an overly staged, imperfect photo. People loved it, so I kept coming up with ideas and would find families that were willing to be involved.
“Escape Plan”
How did you initially get people to agree to do it?
Wine and free babysitting. Just kidding. I would just mention the ideas to friends and it started branching out locally. Some local moms started reaching out saying they would love to be in one of my images. After speaking with them, I would make sure it made sense for their family. Hoboken is such a tight knit community and very family friendly, so it was easy for the idea to spiral into one of their homes. These families all have such a fabulous sense of humor.
“Playdate Insanity”
Which is your favorite photo so far?
I’d have to say “Another Mouth to Feed”. This was an unplanned image. I was in their home for a newborn lifestyle session, and their dog was taking amazing direction and I couldn’t believe it. So with that idea in mind, I KNEW I had to involve the dog somehow!
“Another Mouth to Feed”
Has there ever been a shoot where you didn’t get what you were looking for?
I actually reshot the “Rush Hour” image. I was at their home and she informed me the day OF their session that she wanted a funny image, so “Rush Hour” was created last second. This was an image they wanted for their holiday card, which was perfect, except they were too dressed up, and it wasn’t believable. I didn’t want to take time away from their lifestyle session (as that’s what I was there to do), so I asked them if I could re-style and photograph it again. They were all about it. So they actually have two versions of that one!
“Rush Hour”
Do you think it’s easier to get these photos or perfect family shots?
I adore both. The planning of “Best Case Scenario” images have more leg work involved. Getting locations, finding props, the right lighting, the story… but the whole process is SO FUN. It’s a lot of directing and craziness going on, but that’s what it’s all about. But it’s probably less stressful for the parent if their child throws a tantrum during a “best case scenario” photograph than the other. The children usually get so excited to act out for the image, because it’s something they’re normally told NOT to do. I find the kids and parents both have a blast!
“Check Please!”
How does the process of determining a family’s photo usually work? Do you think of the ideas first or do you come up with them based on the families?
When I first started the series, I created the ideas first but the most recent two (“Rush Hour” & “Keep Your Head in the Game”) were of families who had reached out to me. I got to know the families on a personal basis so I could create images that spoke a truth to them. Lots of chats over the phone, random texts, pictures, ideas thrown around. Then the final image comes together!
“Keep Your Head in the Game”
If you were able to take a photo of your own life, what would it look like?
Oh boy…. I would definitely want some peace and quiet as my husband and son are tackling, wrestling, and going bonkers in front of me. They play this game called, “Bulls” where my son goes onto my husband’s leg, they announce the “bull rider”, which is usually called “Mohawk”, and he rides a bouncing leg until he’s thrown off. I have to leave the room, because I get so scared one of them is going to get hurt! My image would be like yoga meets a wrestling match probably. I’d have to find a way to involve a glass of wine, as that’s usually what calms my head at the end of a crazy day! It’s pulling teeth trying to get an image from my son and husband though. They stay clear of my camera and my crazy ideas. Darn it.
“Oh NO!!!”
What do you think of the way moms tend to portray their lives on their social media accounts? Do you think instagram/pinterest/etc. are one great big parenting lie?
I definitely think there’s beauty in a “perfect” image as much as an “imperfect”. But, are their kids happy all day long? Probably not. If they are, I’ll gladly trade for a few hours!
“Hold On a Sec…”
If you were to take a photo of my life (with the little you know about me), what would it be of?
I’m pretty darn impressed that you run this blog/business, while also juggling your children and home life. My favorite part of your work are the interviews you have with celebrities. I love that you welcome them in your home, and half the time, something hilarious happens with your kids in the shot. You stay so calm and focused. I’d love to see a bit of chaos going on around you during some important interview you have in your home. You may even need to call in some help to make it happen, because you know— it takes a village!
What do you guys think? Should I do it?
Second question: If Danielle took a photo of your life, what would it be of?
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To contact Danielle for a photo shoot, click here.
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if I was having one of these photo shoots done, it would be me in the kitchen with a perfect dress on, perfect dinner on the table, perfect drink in my hand, at the expense of the kids who are a total wreck and have destroyed every last inch of the rest of the house. Dinner and clean kids/house are mutually independent.
This idea comes from my recent epiphany that clean and quiet cannot exist in the same space with kids. It’s one or the other.
I think a lot of his has to do with the kinda of pressures and the life we lead now. It certainly doesn’t apply to everyone. We expect we should entertain our kids all day and full out homes with toys that create piles of mess, and helicopter over our kids “playing” with them and watching them. I advocate attachment and play and engaging children (I’ve presented around the world on that) but I think we all need to redress the balance if we can’t even keep our houses clean because of the pressures we’ve put on ourselves. Children struggle to play independently because we are fed this belief that they need adults alongside them all the time (not true- not even healthy) that we can’t have it all- clean homes and happy kids- because we should all be too busy playing with them and catering to them. I advocate play- but child led play doesn’t mean adult involved or initiated play. They need space to breathe and play freely on their own. That’s when you clean. They can help if they like that or go off and simply play. It’s generalising to say we can’t have both- why not? It’s possible to have a highly connected relationship and also time to do the things we need (and should) be doing. Sorry if this sounds offensive, I mean to suggest we should all look at the expectations we have and maybe rethink things a little. If anyone’s slightly interested I love Janet Lansburys blog 🙂
firstly, obviously you should do it!!!!
and secondly, if I had a photo shoot like that, it would be of me and my husband trying to fold the mounds of laundry that accumulate while our one year old systmatically threw each folded shirt behind him. Oh and the dog attacking socks.
Do it!
Mine would be me in the kitchen attempting to cook and/or bake while my 2 year old opens all the cabinets and pulls out all the pots/pans/bowls to make her own “mac & cheese” – meanwhile, my husband is trying to corral our sneaky cat from getting into the cabinets my lovely daughter left open. My kid knows her ABCs and can count to 20 but the concept of closing doors after opening them still eludes her.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! These are great. At first I thought they were photoshopped but the fact they are staged with actual parents, kids, and props, they are awesome!!!!!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSS Ilana, do it! Isn’t Rachel Dratch right around the corner? Gosh, if I had a photo of my crazy life it’d be during dinner when the toddler is crying because I’m not cooling down her food fast enough, the husband is trying to reason/physically-restrain our preschooler into his chair for dinner, and the dogs are picking scraps out of the trashcan.
Do it!!!
Mine would probably be my kids trying to jump in a pile of laundry like a pile of raked leaves with me draped over the sofa with a huge mug of coffee (or wine)… or me trying to put wine in the coffee maker instead of water.
You should do it! 🙂 mine would involve the littlest one stashing the last remaining remote control, my husband frantically serving for it, a ball colliding with the new TV and someone spilling large amounts of food from the pantry…
oh, do it! it would be so much fun!!
my house is a bit different. if we were to be photographed the staging would look like a lego friends minefield spread out between my husband and i and the sacred coffee pot (we’re both in school and he is active duty a.f., as well) while our daughters 6 & 8 gleefully drop ever-increasing mounds of lego bombs around the house and our teenaged son ignores us while strumming his guitar. And we can forget our gas-bag bulldog scenting the air with his eau-de-funk while he peacefully slumbers on his bed.
I’d be sitting at the kitchen table on my phone, husband would be at the door looking harried, after fighting traffic to get home at 7pmish, the boys would be playing lego star wars on the wii and fighting each other as they keep killing off each others characters or not following each other and being totally disconnected as a team to actually play the game.
You should definitely do the photo shoot! The images you shared are FANTASTIC!
The best moment in my family’s life to capture would be family dinner time when my husband gets to join us. My husband works nights, so I’m very lax at dinner time when it’s just me and my two girls, ages 13 and 4. While we’ll all be at the same table, we may not necessarily be focused on each other during the meal. Both girls could be watching different Netflix shows on iPad and laptop, while I’m watching something on the TV (It’s bad, I know. It’s not all the time, but comical when it happens.) On nights when my husband IS home, he can’t tolerate the multiple noise sources and gets very frustrated when the 4 yr old likes to stand and dance by her chair in between bites of food. It would be hilarious to see an image of him trying to get her to sit down, while she’s dancing in one of her dress-up costumes holding a chicken nugget, with me trying to get the oldest to remove the headphones that are perpetually attached to her head. Aaah, a nice simple family dinner.
Yes, this would be amazing.
Also, could we get her sponsored to go around the country and do these like a Monday Morning series? Because that would also be amazing.
YES! Like, could we all just agree to switch our insurance over to Allstate and make this happen?!
My photo would be of me trying to get ready for work while my 2 year old destroys that bathroom wanting to “get ready” while my dog is getting in our trash and my husband is walking out the door. All while the clock is ticking 2 times faster than it normally does.
You should do it! I think mine would be trying to get two kids who play sports home, fed and geared up within 40 minutes of walking through the door to head out to their various practices/games. Food on the stove, water bottles waiting to be filled, sports gear strewn throughout the house, homework being sort-of done… and of course, my husband would be in the other room on his computer or on the phone.
You should definitely do it! My photo shoot would be called “Wake up call” and based on our real life truth it would show my husband and I asleep, clock showing 8am, 5 year old trying to pry open one of my eyes, 3 year old playing with Daddy’s cell phone and having an obviously overly full diaper, 1 year old visible in the background starting to climb out of his crib….yup.
You should definitely do this. It would be a lot of fun – as long as they cleaned it up right away afterwards… LOL!
My picture would be me with a bucket, mop, dust rag, etc…following the husband, kids and dogs around the house as they leave trails of dirt and garbage in their wake. I have that nightmare often!
These pictures are amazing! The shower one is my favorite.
The shower one is my favorite too!
Me in the kitchen loading the dishwasher while my two year old is grabbing onto my leg while grabbing all of the dirty spoons out of the dishwasher that I’ve just loaded and licking them clean. My Great Dane would be paws up on the kitchen counter eating our leftover dinner, and my husband would appear to be folding laundry on the couch, but would be staring intently at the TV since two things at once is IMPOSSIBLE for men.
Mine would be the last one, I’m always the one to carry everything while my SO is on his phone or holding his drink or something. The other day I had our food, drinks, diaper bag, and all of our groceries while he carried our toddler from the car to the front door. Poor guy, that probably wore him out. 🙂
It would be of me eating a cookie in a closet so I don’t have to share while the boys (that’s husband and son) look for something that is quite obviously right in front of them.
Totally do it!! We all have perfect pictures, it’s the catastrophic ones that are the most fun to look at.
Mine would be my two girls in the playroom with essentially all their toys pulled out and opened and strewn about the room with my husband and I staring at the scene in bewilderment wondering where that bomb was hiding and how these two little girls could set it off so fast?!?! Happens pretty regularly actually.
Love this series! My photo shoot would be me trying to exercise with my three boys either climbing on me or insisting that I use them as free weights. Of course, while dad sits on the couch in the background eating cookies. 🙂
Photo shoot of my life would probably be of everyone in the car, with me driving the boys to all their activities. In the back of the minivan: oldest in his gymnastics clothes, trying to steal #2’s piano books. Middle row: #3 kicking the seat in front of him, #4 howling that he’s strapped into his car seat. Me in front, cranking up the music to drown out the noise.
if she shot of photo of my life…
I’d be pumping, our daughter would have just thrown up on herself, my fiance, sofa, floor, and of course the dog would be licking it up because I couldn’t grab him while hooked up.
happened quiet recently. lovely
Yes! You totally should! Mine would either be of the time after school before dinner. My husband cooks but the kids can be miserable or totally hilarious. It’s a crapshoot. And it’s my job to entertain them as I too am trying to regroup after working all day. Also there’s the weekend nap time for my 18 month old. Inevitably whenever she’s struggling to settle down and nap, it’s when I’m home alone with both girls and the 4 yr old ends up pooping and needing assistance wiping. Never. Fails. But that’s probably not good photo material! Lol!
Mine might be a shot of attempting to get everyone ready in the morning. Attempting to straighten my hair while the baby hangs on to my leg and tries to take his clean diaper off, my eldest dances about in his school uniform shirt and underwear (just put your trousers on for the love of goodness) and my daughter re-enacting Frozen in her pjs or crying while she brushes her own hair. All watched by the hubs as he straightens his tie, ready to head out for work. I often wonder what it would be like to have one person to get ready instead of four…. (though it is the only thing he doesn’t do to be fair to him).
Absolutely do this! I am trying to crowd fund my Chicago mom friends to pool enough money to get her here for some Midwest style shoots! Which would inevitably involve riding on a form of public transportation enroute to [insert iconic Chicago landmark…the Bean, Navy Pier, Willis Tower, Shedd Aquarium] with the toddler trying to lick the handrails, mom trying to feed the new baby and simultaneously get a snack for the tongue wielding toddler and dad reading the brochure on how to survive the aforementioned trip to said iconic locale.
The “escape plan” and “oh no!” shots both bring back a serious case of déjà vu! Our family photo would probably be a version of “keep your head in the game” involving an Xbox. Or something involving our dog eating our son Xander’s flung food while Xander somehow escaped toward the kitchen to eat the dog’s food and torture the cats while the adults try to get in some alone time on the couch
Mine would be called Hide and Seek. I’m blessed to have a very wonderful and patient five year old daughter who puts up with all of my volunteer work for church and her school, and waits for me to be done with emails and phone calls and computer work… but occasionally I realize it’s way too quiet and I have to go find her. She’s usually asleep somewhere… like behind a plant or under a table, and I wonder what she was doing before she fell asleep…
Oh yeah, and you should totally do it!
Do it! Mine would be me sleeping while my 1 year old climbs me like a jungle gym…all in his crib. Because that’s how he learns that it’s a safe place to sleep, right? Right?? (Sent from The Crib. His. Not mine.)
Do it!!!
Our family photo would be me in my robe trying to get ready for work while my husband is trying to seduce me with my two year old hanging from the bottom of my robe. He would have his cereal bowl in hand and cereal of course. (Husband works thirds and thinks that right before me going to work is the prefect time).
It didn’t have a name but the first picture of the parents asleep on the couch is all closer to the truth at our house than I usually care to admit. Given the chance, I would do this photo shoot in a heartbeat. I think we would all love to see the way yours turn out.
Do it. It’ll be fun.
I’ve had a family picture image in my mind for a few years now. And would love to get it done b/c it describes my family.
I want the cheesy family portrait setup but I want
Hubby looking annoyed or looking at his watch
Me, finger pointing, like I’m getting onto the kids
13 yr old son looking at his phone, maybe with earbuds in
11 yr old son sitting his tongue out, making a face b/c I can’t ever get a serious smile out of him. He’s always making faces
7 year old daughter crossing her eyes and doing a big goofy grin. Or holding up her Mr. Lion, maybe half over her face
8 month old daughter crying, a big, open mouth red face cry
I have one of what happened when I let them finger paint when they were 1 and 3. I love it, but I still don’t know what made me think that was a good idea, lol…. now they’re 8 and 6, it would probably be me asleep on the sofa at the Crack of dawn (my husband drives trucks long distance, I sleep on the sofa when he’s not home coz bed is lonely) with the 6 year old sitting on top of me eating a bowl of cereal while her big sister cheerfully turns my clean lounge room into a scene from monster high – usually just after half of the school got destroyed – eating biscuits. All of the heat is against the rules by the way, but that’s what into woke up the he ha to 2 days ago.
At my house, nothing would need to be staged! Just come on in on a Saturday and you will see a perfect shoot already in progress. 2 adults, 5 kids (13, 11, 8 & two 3 year olds) & 3 dogs! It’s never a dull moment lol
Mine would be me sitting at the table homeschooling my five year old while my three year old gets out every single toy she owns and my two year old cries on the floor because the dog keeps walking away from him and won’t wear the chef’s hat.
Open concept house. I would be piled in kids school papers and mail up to my waist laundry all over the living room one son drooling while playing xbox the other standing there with his shirt on inside out and backwards probably dropping something, my daughter would be at the table crying because she didn’t want what I made for dinner an hour ago but she’s hungry, and my husband on a conference call in the kitchen telling us all to be quiet.
Homeschooling in our jammies, eating homemade cookies, surrounded by messy house, a pile of laundry next to me on the couch, and our eldest doing a science experiment gone bad! That’s my life 🙂
you should do it.
mine would be husband not home, toddler drawing on the television (which is of course playing Thomas), while I’m trying to make dinner and he falls off the couch onto a terrified cat just as I am lifting something heavy out of the oven to find nowhere to put it down.
I don’t know what my picture would be but it would involve a lot of laundry. A lot.
My photo would be me coming into the living room because of a sudden noise. My 11 yr old son would be in the living room facing me with a baseball bat behind his back, shoulders up in a shrug, and there would be a jagged hole in the living room window.
Great read!
Mine would be my 3 mo. old wailing in the background as i am surrounded by a pile of toys and gadgets that are intended to calm her down. They are all battery operated but i either do not have the batteries and/or they’re dead.
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This would be great as a family photo for my family: trying to get out of the house for a day trip to the beach. We always love going, but getting everyone out and remembering to bring everything can be comical and challenging, especially when you have run back in the house for the 4th time to grab that ONE last thing. Haha. These images are so much better and more realistic than any other family photo shoot I’ve seen 🙂
You should definitely do it. I already have an unplanned photo of my eldest as a baby sitting in a bumbo seat on the stove as he pulls at the cord of the kettle and the knives lie next to him. Made me laugh so much when I realised the situation he was in, I had to take a photo. My OH wasn’t impressed for some reason though!
This is so great! I can’t wait to see your photos. If it were my family it would probably be a “Hey Bartender” shoot. My husband and I were both in the liquor business and it could be our kids taking over the bar, getting their hands on the cocktail shakers and wine corks, all the fragile stuff they aren’t supposed to touch
Mine would be pregnant me sleeping on the couch which my 2 year old has adorned with all her toys all around me. The dog would be trying to sneak on to the couch. The cat would be chewing my husbands shoelaces. My husband would be trying to wrangle the 2 year old into the bath. Otherwise known as “last night”
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I say do it! For my family these photos would look like a frazzled mother trying to get her medically complex child to her out of town appointments and going anywhere with my autistic child and medically complex child. Even cleaning, can be chaotic.
Most days I don’t know how I even manage. Just to leave with my medically complex child, I need a diaper bag, reduce medications and if we will be gone for a meal, food as well.
[…] Guenther, the photographer who you might remember from her hilarious “Best Case Scenario” photo series (and the photo she shot of me with Rachel Dratch), is busy taking photos series that portray a […]
[…] a few weeks ago when I posted the interview with Danielle Guenther, the photographer who shoots hilarious photos of chaotic real life parenting scenarios? If you don’t remember, I’ll wait while you click the link and get up to […]
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