This little guy on the left obviously had enough of the good behavior required for First Communions, and was making every exaggerated expression possible for photos afterwards, when his mom wasn't looking.
I'd met the kids, this boy and his sister (pictured below), extremely briefly before being ushered into the church. I had about 5 seconds to look at each of them, in a miniature black suit and miniature fluffy white dress, respectively. I was parked in the photographer's area, to the side, behind the indoor fountain and mini-pool (Baptism area? Forgive me if I proceed to display my ignorance of religious things). The family sat in the second row, sans the First Communion Kids. And then to my horror, the First Communion kids paraded in, all 30 of them, ALL either wearing mini black suits or mini white fluffy dresses. Some of the boys wore white suits, so I could eliminate them. Ack!!! After placing flowers on the, um, altar? They sat down with their families, and I tried to look at the two kids, and to tried to find distinguishing features. The boy had cap-like hair and a round head. The girl had her hair in a high bun, and her veil extended from a white wreath-like accessory that encircled the bun.
To make the situation even more fun, the service was in Spanish. I don't speak Spanish. Fortunately, the hispanic woman (with the goth son and the goth son's girlfriend) in the pew next to the photographer area was nice enough to translate for me. Take photos as long as you don't get in the priest's way, stay in one place, and there will be time to take pics with the priest later on, no mention of no flash. Flash was an essential in this church, which had lovely stained glass windows, but was awfully dim. And kids move fast. They zipped around. The only good photo opp was when they had their candles lit, and had to walk slowly to avoid flame snuffing and wax spillage. Even then, my designated photographer's spot was rather far away. I saw other people ignoring the priests' rules of not moving around, so I joined the throng and hunkered down (I do a lot of hunkering, a required photographer skill) in front of the first pew to photograph the kids with their lit candles.
Then came a round of family photos, with the priest, in front of the fountain area, in front of... um, well, statues (?) of the Holy Family to one side and then, I assume, John the Workman (because it was the church of John the Workman?) to the otherside? I felt like I was visiting a foreign country, as the only time I visit churches is when I go to Europe.
Afterwards, everyone met up at the family Mexican restaurant. Actually, it was here that I'd met the grandma while I was photographing someone else's wedding dinner. The grandma asked for my contact info. That's how I got this gig. Anyways, it was a relief to photograph kids in kid poses instead of standing stiffly. The sister, on the left, promptly undid her bun upon arrival at the restaurant (with some help from her cousin; you can see the bobby pins in their hands) and placed the veil accessory upon her cousin.
