About Distracted Daddy
Distracted Daddy is a working father with a two-year-old daughter, a focused wife and a flatulent pug. When he’s not distracted he blogs about poop, parenting and other things at distracteddaddy.com.
Papa-razzi
the fatherlode: family photography canada
(Mar.10.11)
My daughter is famous.
Like Brad and Angie, my daughter can’t go anywhere or do anything without being relentlessly photographed. At the park, on a stroll, even in her own home, my daughter’s picture is constantly being taken without her consent.
Unlike her celebrity counterparts, her pictures don’t end up on insatiable gossip blogs like TMZ or Lainey Gossip. They go to something with an even more insatiable appetite for candids, her grandparents.
Or they just stay on the computer with the other 6400 pictures. Yes, 6400. I did some rough math (I was an English major) and that is roughly how many pictures I’ve taken of my daughter in her 18 months of existence.
I’ve never been such an avid photographer. There are numerous years in my life that passed without a single picture. I’ve gone on vacations and returned with only memories. But the moment I had a daughter, fatherhood put the "avid" in front of "photographer."
Literally the moment. My daughter’s first picture happened seconds after her birth. It’s not a flattering picture; she was crying and covered in a viscous goo. I’ve placed it in the “Embarrassing – Show at Wedding” folder.
I’ll confess, I’m not even a good photographer. I’m no amateur Anne Geddes. I don’t spend my weekends hollowing out gourds or sewing baby flower petal costumes. Good pictures happen through sheer volume. And that means bringing the camera to any and every outing.
My daughter’s gotten used this, her life in the limelight. She knows the camera. She works the camera. All of the amateur photography has turned her into a regular little ham. If a camera appears, she’ll turn her head to the side and give a little smile.
Like a good little celebrity she understands the power of the lens, and knows how to avoid those unfortunate candids. She’s even employed the standard celebrity hand in the lens tactic when she no longer wants to be photographed. It’s her way of saying, “I don’t want my fans to see me eat this raisin off the floor.”
All of this photography has had another unintentional side effect; it’s turned my daughter into the tiniest little narcissist. Her new favourite activity is looking at pictures of herself. She absolutely loves it. She’s mesmerized with her own visage. She’d stare at herself all day if she could.
We don’t let her. After a few photos, we suggest she moves onto another activity. She refuses and demands “more more”. When we don’t give in she exhibits another hallmark of celebrity behaviour – the full-blown tantrum.
And like all paparazzi know, tantrums make for some great pictures.
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