Family photos are funny, especially when it's not your family being forced to don matching sweaters and smiles for the camera. AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com founders Mike Bender and Doug Chernack have capitalized on some of these unfortunate photographical exploits, with their popular website that allows viewers to voyeuristically experience these private moments in a very public forum. The popular website branched off into the equally amusing Awkward Family Pet Photos site last year, which in turn spawned a recently released book of the same name, filled with pages of animal lovers struggling to commit their perfectly posed pet moments to film.
The book asserts that it's not the pets who are awkward, rather it's just us, and maybe the reason we love our furry family members so much is because they give us the freedom to be our crazy, awkward selves. In addition to being filled with lol-worthy images of cats, dogs, rats, horses, pigs, goats, lizards, sugar gliders (really?), etc., Awkward Family Pet Photos also includes snappy captions and insight from some of the subjects themselves on the real stories behind the photos.
Don't You Forget About Me
Cats In Space
My own awkward family pet photo experience came earlier this year when I decided it would be a *great* idea to take Priscilla into a professional photography studio to have our picture taken.
Priscilla is my sugar baby kitty muffin, but one thing you have to to understand about her is that she's terrified of anyone who isn't a member of my family. That being said, instead of freaking out in the extremely rare occasion she's forced to be among the general public, she just kinda freezes up and flops over limply, eyes open wide, pupils dilated in silent panic.
When we arrived at the studio I pulled her out of the crate and clutched her tightly to my chest, while softly cooing that everything was going to be alright. She proceeded to shed buckets of fur all over me and the floor, as the photographer snapped away, and at least three people (my Mom, Dad, and another photographer) waved treats and toys wildly in the air in a bid to get her attention. Sure, I could pose her in any position I wanted (limp, remember?), but not even photoshop can wipe the look of abject terror off the face of a cat who doesn't want to be photographed. In the end, we were able to get a (as in, one) cute shot of us with her tongue peeping out, an image that will surely serve as a lifelong reminder of what a horrible cat mom I am for subjecting her to such indignities.
That being said, I find many of the images on the website and in the book sort of sweet and endearing, especially the one featuring the cat ladies below, unabashedly matching their fashions to their feline subjects.
This picture is kind of amazing, actually.
Amazon
, and at fine book stores near you!
Enter To Win!
Want to check out more awkwardness for yourself? Three Rivers Press has generously offered one lucky Catsparella winner the chance to win a copy of Awkward Family Pet Photos of their very own!
To enter, leave a comment on this post with your name and some way for me to contact you if you win (email, link back to your blog or profile, Twitter, etc.).
The winner be will chosen in a random drawing next Monday, November 14th at 5:00PM EST. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. One entry per person, please.
Good luck, and be sure to check out the Awkward Family Pet Photos website! The book is on sale now on
, and at fine book stores near you!(If you have trouble entering a comment, please email me at catsparella@gmail.com.)
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