Family portraits are usually meant to be idealized representation of families, with nice clothes, pleasant smiles, and beautiful backdrops. The portraits in “Best Case Scenario” are different. In each of the images in the project, lifestyle photographer Danielle Guenther attempts to capture the reality of being a parent of young children. Things aren’t perfect and peaceful — life is often chaos.



Guenther regularly visits families to shoot portraits in their homes. The traditional type of family portrait. However, during one home visit to a family with small kids, the photo shoot “spiraled out of control” and descended into chaos. Guenther then decided that she would start a series of “real” portraits showing what parents actually go through on a day to day basis.

After sharing some of her “Best Case Scenario” photographs online, Guenther began receiving requests from families who wanted their own “chaotic portraits” taken, and the series has been an ongoing project ever since.

Guenther’s images capture sibling rivalries, shopping disasters, messy meals, the fear of waking a sleeping baby, being late out the door, and more. Here are the images in the series so far:

You can follow along with the series through its webpage and through Facebook.

(H/T SLR Lounge)

Image credits: Photographs by Danielle Guenther and used with permission