When photographers get familiar

In honor of Father’s Day, I will recount something funny:

When I was growing up, my family used to have a photographer who we used for events named Howard. My mom first hired him for my bat mitzvah, and I guess the family liked his energy, infectious laugh, and photo skills so much that we had him for many subsequent events.

One thing he always did, which I found really funny then and still do today is call my parents “Mom” and “Dad” when he was giving them instructions on how to position themselves in the photo. For instance, we would be standing waiting for him to snap a photo, and Howard would go, “Mom, tilt your head a little to the right. Dad, move in a little.” I can’t remember whether he ever went so far as to say “Grandma” or “Grandpa”–that seems a little crazy!–but I just always found this familiarity really amusing because in that situation it was totally acceptable. A photographer is like a cheerleader for the family. Whether or not kin are seething on the inside as they’re smiling for the photographer, he is totally oblivious, focused most on getting “Mom” and “Dad” and  kids to tilt their heads to the right but not too far and smile more.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad.