Formally Informal

My family is not a family that enjoys family pictures. At all. So when we’re forced to take a formal photo, ours doesn’t usually turn out like most families. This picture was taken a couple of summers ago, when the whole Runolfson side got together one night to get a big family picture. The photographer also offered to take a few pictures of each individual family: this was my family’s result.

                This picture tells a lot about my family. For example, you may be wondering “why are their heads tipped at a 90 degree angle?” My junior year of high school for the homecoming dance, my date and I were getting our pictures taken and the photographer insisted we tip our heads close to together. He kept insisting until they were tipped at an awkward angle, then snapped the picture. The picture looked horrendous. My parents, then, when we were taking this picture said “let’s take a picture like Marissa and Keven,” referring to the dance picture, and tipped their heads like that. That describes my parents perfectly: always taking an opportunity to tease, and laugh about things that have happened. The fact that my head and my brother Will’s head are tipped also speak about what we are like. My brother and I love to go along with a joke. Even when it may be one of us that’s being teased.

                Sitting in the front row, from left to right is Janie, Riley and Abby. Janie is a little, quite sassy girl, that likes to be in the loop. In this picture she has the expression that she knows something is going on that she doesn’t quite get, but wants to figure out. Riley, knowing this about her, is laughing at her expression. Riley loves to laugh, but is not usually in on “the joke,” as shown in this picture. Abby, sits there, still facing the camera and smiling, although blinking right as the picture is snapped. This represents a big part of Abby’s personality; she often is in her own little world, doing her own thing. She’s very sweet and obedient, and hence is still looking at the camera, even though the rest of the family is doing something completely different.

                This picture is a great representation of my family, and our love of laughter, and our ability to tease each other and have fun. I love the way it shows how my family interacts with each other, and I love that it really captures the moment, and captures us. It’s also quite the treasure, because although my dad is always smiling and laughing, quite the opposite usually occurs when a camera is in sight. Our genuine faces, and crazy personalities are all shown.