Parents: Don't Overdo It On Prom Night

If you've ever been dubbed a member of the "Parent Paparazzi" by your children, you probably wear the badge with pride. Your love for photography - combined with your love for your kids - seems like a match made in heaven as you capture each memorable moment of your offspring's youth.

During the early years, this wasn't a problem. Little Johnny didn't know when you took that picture of him at the tender age of two playing with his rubber ducky in the bathtub that years later it would end up on your MySpace page. He was a willing and enthusiastic model as he smiled and waved to the camera. But now he can't figure out what's worse - having a parent who is on MySpace or photos of him in the baby-buff for all in cyberspace to see.

With prom time rapidly approaching, you may be preparing for the photo shoot of all photo shoots as you mentally map out each moment that you want to capture on film. Nine times out of ten, your enthusiasm will be appreciated - up to a point. After all, who wouldn't want plenty of photos captured of them all glammed up on one of the most exciting and memorable nights of their teenage life?

There is a point however at which you, a member of the Parent Paparazzi, can become quite annoying. Just when you've hit your stride at photo number 318, your son or daughter begins to whisper to their prom date that they can't wait to go off to college and be free of your camera-happy self for at least a few months. Smiles quickly begin to fade and are replaced by impatient sighs and fidgeting as you frantically snap away and declare, "I'm almost done!"

Before you take those last few photos - you know, the one of your son or daughter all dressed up in their prom attire, posing with the family dog, your two cats and Aunt Mary, whom you invited over specifically for the Red Carpet affair - stop yourself and ask, "Is all of this really necessary? I mean, really, really necessary?"

As a fellow member of the Parent Paparazzi, I truly understand your excitement and desire to capture every possible moment of the pre-prom festivities on camera. However, we as parents sometimes do go overboard with this. I mean, how many prom pictures does a parent actually need anyway? Once you download or print them off, you will probably discover that the 57 photos you took of your teen standing in front of the limo with their date, 25 getting into the limo and 47 actually in the limo were - well just a bit too much.

Keep in mind that while your teenager may enjoy a brief pre-prom photo shoot at home, he or she is likely to be anxious to actually get to the prom so that they can have some real fun. Also keep in mind that even if they opt not to take their own camera to the prom and shoot photos, they will have an "official" prom photo taken while there. There may even be random photos taken by the photographer of the festivities and later made available on the internet for you to order.

I learned all of this the hard way after taking too many pre-prom photos of my stepdaughter and her date a couple of years back. And it wasn't even her prom. Got some great shots though (the one with the family dog is my favorite). However, I lost my Parent Paparazzi privileges because I just simply went overboard. Take it from me - it's not worth it. A few good, classic photos are all that you need to capture the occasion on film.