13 Parenting Worst Case Scenarios You Will Live Through (If You Haven’t Already)
It's messed up.
Photographer Danielle Guenther understands that things are rough in the parenting game. The sleep deprivation. The unrelenting mess. The things that go into a toddler’s mouth and hopefully come out the other end. It’s the reason why she takes these exaggerated family portraits for her series, “Best Case Scenario.”
This isn’t the morning you, your wife, and the kids went down to the Sears studio in matching sweaters — it’s more the morning you spent cleaning gum out of the dog’s fur. Below Guenther talks about the inspiration behind these composed shots and the reason you feel anxious looking at them.
“CBS followed me on this shoot, It was such a blast! The kids have so much fun. We had to improvise after the oldest child decided to climb into the dryer … but it made for a pretty funny image!”
“This image gave birth to the series. It was at the end of a regular lifestyle session. The parents plopped down on the couch out of exhaustion afterwards. Seeing that unfold in front of me sparked an image idea. We all decided to make it even crazier. We started pulling items out, and props, laughing hysterically staging this image.”
“How often do your kids get sick and tell yourself, ‘Oh crap…I hope I don’t get this.’ The reason we say that is because there are no days off when you’re sick as a parent. ”
“I shot this image in my hometown in Ohio at Great Scot Supermarkets. They were so excited to be a part of it. The family had such a blast. These children never get to eat all of this junk food, so they were especially pumped to dig in!”
“During this shoot, the older child started hitting his brother in the head with the broom, the youngest spilled cereal everywhere. I literally just sat back and watched it unfold. This is exactly what it’s like getting out the door in the morning. It’s insane!”
“I think back to when I came home from the hospital and I was so excited to lay in bed with your baby and just stare for hours … until the milk comes in. OMG, so painful! I had this exact scenario happen to me, and I wanted to recreate it. Frozen peas for ice packs and the husband doesn’t know what to do except offer you a beer. “What?! I heard it brings your milk in!!”
“In that moment of running errands on the weekend, the men always seem to find the right time to check the score…”
“Just when you think you can go out to eat as a family and enjoy a meal … this happens. Notice she’s gripping the bottle of wine. Always a science experience going on at dinner in public. Why here?!”
“When you think you can get a shower in. This is the closest you’ll ever get to a spa with little ones at home. Notice the candles in the back. “A” for effort, even if it failed. The little girl was screaming so bad during this shoot, it was echoing in the entire bathroom. I forgot to bring earplugs for this one.”
“Coming home from the hospital with a new baby, you’re absolutely sleep deprived. Who knows what’s going on at feeding time? I never did, I was a walking zombie.”
“Why does the phone have to ring at the wrong moment? She just fell asleep!”
“I cooked that turkey all day for this shoot. Who knew they don’t make fake turkeys as props. But props to him for trying to help out on game day…”
“When you think the kids are actually asleep, and boom. You hit a creaky floorboard. They’re awake. Ok, start over…”
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