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This portrait sitting had all the signs of becoming a nightmare. We eventually had a room of about 14 people (including one baby, 2 very young children and various adults...and a dog)!

The sitting room that we were in wasn't particularly large and it was difficult to get the lighting right in such a small place. It wasn't long before tempers started to fray and the children were becoming restless and bored.

It also didn't help that half way through the sitting, an argument flared up outside with the neighbours.

During all the kafuffle, a joke dummy was shoved in one of the younger children's mouth. Immediately this brought a smile to one of the teenagers and generally calmed everyone down.

At the precise moment that I took this shot, the dog poked his head in to see what was happening. Just for effect and to emphasise the dummy, I removed the colour from the rest of the picture leaving just that of the dummy.

It's not just weddings that can be stressful. Wherever you get a group of people of differing ages, especially in a confined space, things can go wrong. It helps if you have a few props with you to keep the kids amused and also a calm temperament and as the poem "IF" by Rudyard Kipling starts... "If you can keep your head when all around are losing theirs..." you should be ok!