What the??

Funny how sometimes you just can’t see the forest for the trees. Went on a photo shoot last Sunday afternoon. This young lady (Tonya) hired me to shoot some pictures, both formal and candid, at her mother’s 65th birthday party. No problem, got there at about 3:30 set up some lights even though the shots were all outside on the front lawn. She had previously made a fuss about seeing some of my past work that she thought were a little too dark. I wasn’t taking any chances, that complaint she would not be able to level on this go around. There were about 35 people at the house, mostly the birthday lady’s grown children with their young children and some neighbours. I readied the equipment and kind of observed the folks at the same time. Watching groups of associated people has always interested me.

Anyway I am now ready to shoot, I shoot all the grandkids together in one big group first, different poses and lots of kidding around. Then I shoot Tonya’s Mom and sister, Tonya’s aunt. Take a few formal portraits of the mom, then I am shooting and shooting different groups that present themselves in fron of the lighting setup. I don’t know the details of the different family units so I am just shooting whoever wants pics and portraits. Usually couples and kids, moms and kids, dads and sons, etc. No problem I shoot as needed, they pay for the ones they want to keep when they see the product.

During the shooting session Tonya comes up with two boys (teen & pre teen), I shoot them. A little later Tonya comes up with another young (HOT!!) lady, I shoot them. I casually ask: “Sisters?” , no just a girl friend Tonya says. A little later Tonya, “girlfriend”, and the two boys come to pose for a couple shots. I take them, think nothing of it, just shoot away.

Now Monday night I am home going thru and editing and generally cleaning up the shots on photoshop. I start to notice Tonya’s two boys look just like her girlfriend. Tonya , girlfriend, and boys are posing like a close family unit. Tonya (a nice looking black girl in her early 30’s) dresses rather masculine, hair obviously a male cut (sort of a straightened Fonz look). I also notice Tonya’s girlfriend has breast implants, WOW they look good! But that is another story, couldn’t keep my eyes off of her that Sunday.
I also notice that in all the huge group pictures of 30+ people Tonya’s girlfriend is always right up against her. I also notice they left together with the boys in tow. I would not have noticed them leaving but there was this nice black H3 Humvee parked there and I wanted to see which one of the siblings owned it. Guys are just like that, all attention is on the nice gyal dem and sweet vehicles. They left in the H3 and I didn’t really think anything it at the time. But now I am looking back at all the photos and thinking “What the??”. Not that there is anything wrong with it (well really there is), but its just that I have never come across a”family” like that before. You see two guys or two women every now and then, but a seemingly happy family? What do the two boys think? How do they explain mom and “dad” to their peers? How will they be when they grow up? A wha de r*ss really a gwan in dis yah world now??