I’m not sure who was more excited for our “Mother and Me” photo session with Christi at Grinkie Girls, my 11-year-old daughter or me. Although I’ve known Christi for about seven years and I’d seen lots of her photos, I truly was not sure what to expect. And my daughter, Sasha, had no idea what was in store, either.
We got to the studio a little before 4:00 pm on a Saturday looking forward to what awaited us. When we walked into the Grinkie studio, Christi met us with a warm smile and offered us some water and a tour.
Then, it was time to get down to business. We met Lela, the hair and make-up artist (and that’s truly what she is), and we started to think about our wardrobe for the shoot.
Christi has a room dedicated to vintage clothes of all sizes for most shapes, and the shoes – oh, my. Does she have shoes!
At first, I admit I wasn’t sure what to look for, but with some guidance from Christi, I was on my way. Or, actually, Sasha began taking out dresses for both her and me to try on.
Once we agreed on what we were going to wear, Lela worked her magic on us. She set my daughter’s hair, then mine. Then she did my daughter’s make-up and finished up her hair, and finally she did the same to me.
I won’t lie; it took some time. Christi says that to do one person’s hair and make-up usually takes about 60-90 minutes, and that was true for us. Times two.
But, wow. She made us both look amazing. I didn’t want my 11-year-old baby to look too grown up, and she didn’t. She looked so naturally beautiful, because she is, but in a way she hadn’t looked before because she hadn’t had her hair and make up done this way before.
And, not to brag, but I looked pretty damn good, too.
With my daughter’s hair and make-up done, it was time for her to get in front of the camera. I can’t tell you how much fun she had, and I think Christi was enjoying her time, too. From my chair, I heard lots of laughter, lots of banter back and forth, and even some suggestions from my daughter, much to Christi’s delight.
Just as Lela finished my hair and make-up, my husband and 13-year-old son arrived because we were going to toss in a couple of family snaps, too.
But before we did though, it was my turn to get in front of the camera. I’ve never been a pinup girl before and certainly never photographed as one, but Christi made it easy. Her comfort behind the camera helped me feel comfortable in front of the camera, even as my family watched from the side.
After about 15 minute of me posing, the rest of my family joined in and we took a few pictures of the four of us. By this time it was about 7:30 pm, and although my daughter could have stayed for another hour or two, I could tell my son was getting antsy.
And, just like that, we were done with the pictures. The great thing is, we got to look at every single one right then and determine which ones we wanted and which ones we didn’t. I won’t lie; it was difficult to choose because they all were really, really great. Christi guided us through this process as well, just as she had been guiding us all evening.
We settled on the ones we would keep, and then changed back into our street clothes. After saying good-bye to Christi, my family went out to dinner at a restaurant nearby. Although we were in jeans and sweatshirts, our faces and hair were still glammed up and it was a fun way to eat a burger.
Later that night, Sasha told me that her brother mentioned to her that she should be a model. “You looked really great in every picture,” he said, proudly.
She’s already thinking about our next Grinkie session, and so am I.
