Over spring break we took the kiddos to visit the zoo, and what a beautiful day we had. The weather was perfect, a bit overcast, but absolutely perfect for pictures. The Hubs even comments what wonderful pictures Mommy is gonna take, on the drive down. I had dreams of capturing breathtaking images of white bengal tigers, or a lovely heart warming shot of a mamma bear and her cubs. That was a dream… this is a reality.
A few lessons learned, some good some bad. 
LESSON #1 – Always try to visit the zoo in spring time, when the tulips are in bloom. The flowers were absolutely beautiful; such a lovely setting to shoot families and kids.
The wisteria was soooooo pretty. (we just planted a wisteria tree last year, but I fear it will be years before we have such lovely blooms as these.)
LESSON #2 – DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT tell the kids you have ring pops for them. Unfortunately we let this bit of information slip, then caved into giving them their ring pops right at the start of the outing. Result: every pic of the kiddos are with blue stained lips and mouth. Awesome.
Yes, this can be easily fixed in Photoshop, but theses were mistakes that I need to learn from as a photographer. And plus as family photos it’s kind of endearing and adds to those special memories.
LESSON #3 – Don’t expect too much. I was rather disappointed at the number of empty habitats. It seemed that a bunch of the animals were also out on spring break. And the ones that were left behind weren’t so thrilled to be there. So as Lila puts it, “Mom, why do we keep seeing a bunch of animal glutes? Why don’t the want to turn around?”
I was able to get this cool shot of an alligator, kind of scary, eh? No worries, I was totally safe and protected behind a dirty piece of shatter-proof glass.
LESSON #4 – Converting photos into black and white, will quickly disguise lollipop faces. IMHO these kids are some of the cutest goof balls I know
LESSON #5 – Sometimes, just ignoring the camera and being a kid, creates the sweetest pictures.
And just incase you guys were wondering we did have our littlest one with us. It’s just she was all bundled up in the stroller, sporting her CalPoly gear.
Images: All images are © 2012 Ninth Cloud Creative.