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.

Ger Long Ger Long

This week, mum-of-four Ger Long (@gevaldine) chatted us through a cheeky photo of her son.

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

I took this photo in 2016. I love it because around that time, I was at a mum and baby yoga class and my yoga teacher put into words the reason behind my love of taking pictures. Very simply, she exclaimed, “You use your photography as a form of mindfulness.” It felt like a life-changing moment! 

I had landed into the world of motherhood without the handbook, and indeed without my own mom, and I’m so glad I had the camera to support me on those overwhelming days.

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

This shot was taken after the boys had, for the umpteenth time, discovered a bag of cornflour. Oh, the fun they had destroying the kitchen with the white flour! Instead of getting stressed out about the situation, I grabbed the camera – a Nikon and my favorite 50mm lens – and managed to capture this photo. This was taken in the bath as I was about to hose the older two down!

Did it take many attempts to get the right shot?

I took a sequence of shots. This is a candid shot – I personally prefer catching the candid moments. Snotty noses and all! Whenever I look at this picture, I smile. I can’t believe three years have passed since that day.

If I am trying to get a somewhat uniform picture of the clan, I will use whatever means necessary. But I find that if you stay relaxed and don’t put pressure on the kids, you’ll get the pictures you want!

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.

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