EACH WEEK, A different Irish parent chats us through a family photo from Instagram and explains what was really going on outside the frame – from tantrums to toilet disasters.

Fancy taking part? Email amy@thejournal.ie with a few lines about yourself and your kids for a chance to feature.

Fiona Naughton Fiona Naughton

This week, Fiona Naughton (@dollydowsie) chatted us through an impressive photo of her son Beau. 

Tell us a bit about this photo. What inspired you to take it?

I captured this photo when walking in the woods with my boys. I was inspired to take it because my son, Beau, was wearing a new cardigan and I loved the faux fur trim on it – even if the hood wasn’t big enough to contain all his curls! I always bring my camera on outings with the boys and thought this would be a perfect opportunity to capture a picture of him looking all winter-like.

What’s one thing that’s going on in this photo that you wouldn’t know from looking at it?

This walk in the woods came on quite a stressful day. We’ve recently moved house and everything is still up in a heap and I find getting the boys out for a run around just helps to calm us all down and reset for the day.

This shot was captured in between Beau pulling the hood down on his cardigan, he just wouldn’t take to it at all because he’s so particular about what he wears. He put it back up for a split second and that’s when I captured this picture.

Did it take many attempts to get the right shot?

I took lots of photos during this little wander around the woods and I ended up liking a handful. I shared this picture on my Instagram and I don’t think anyone realised that this is actually an action shot. It looks like Beau is stood still but he’s actually taken off running in this shot – sports mode is very much needed when I’m trying to photograph my boys! 

It can be hard to get the right shot when photographing the kids but I find just letting them do their own thing works best in getting natural, beautiful and magical photos – I was hiding behind a tree when I captured this one!

Do you have a family photo from Instagram with a great behind-the-scenes story? The day at the beach when the little one ingested a mouthful of sand – or the smiley photo taken just minutes after a tantrum? If so, we want to hear from you! Email amy@thejournal.ie with a few lines about yourself and your kids for a chance to feature in What You Don’t See Here.

More: ‘Screaming babies and poo explosions’: Lorraine shares the reality of this festive family snap