Parenting

Photographer captures hilarious chaos of family life

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Danielle Guenther
Danielle Guenther
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Danielle Guenther
Danielle Guenther
Danielle Guenther
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Lights, chaos, action!

That’s the credo of a Hoboken lifestyle photographer who is making a name shooting the anti-family portrait, showing instead the warts-and-all side of parenthood — even if it means Goldfish crackers all over the living room floor.

Danielle Guenther, a married mother of one, was inspired by her own trials as a parent of a 5-year-old son to eschew typical images of domestic perfection. She is now shooting familial bedlam, and the photos will really make you want to splurge on your Mother’s Day gift this year.

“It’s the moments that no one is touching on that is really honest,” says Guenther.

And in an era of social media, where doting mothers and fathers are able to artfully edit their tiny terrors to look like cherubs, Guenther’s work is refreshing.

“It’s a weird thing, but you are on Facebook and you’re seeing everyone’s perfect images. ‘Oh, he smiled.’ Click. It’s that slight second that you pray for as a parent, and most of the day is really just falling apart.”

The self-taught shutterbug embarked on the offbeat project during a shoot with Hoboken-based Matt and Tram-Anh Poprik, who have two children, ages 4 years old and 9 months. She told the tired couple to sit on the couch and cuddle when Tram-Anh lamented that it felt good to relax and pretended to snag a rare moment of sleep. The faux snooze sparked a creative streak in Guenther, who then started scattering Goldfish crackers on the floor with toys and wine glasses while the kids played in mess and the parents caught some well-deserved winks. The photo was entitled “Parenting is Exhausting.”

“Obviously, the moments are staged, but they are based on real issues in the family,” says Guenther.

She consults with couples to understand what fuels their daily frustrations and develops a concept. For example, one Manhattan mom said her husband is constantly checking game scores on his phone, leaving her to do the heavy lifting. Guenther shot her struggling with a stroller and packages while her hapless husband focused his laser-beam concentration on his phone. In another portrait, Guenther captured a family of four’s dining experience, complete with a spaghetti-and-condiment mosaic and a pitying waiter.

“What’s appealing about these photos is that not every hair is perfect in place. I have enough of those. And other parents can relate,” says Tram-Anh, who also posed for an unruly shower scene.

“I want it to make sense with people and their lives and what they’re going through, because these are moments that are currently a huge disaster when you’re going through it,” says Guenther.

“You’re going to laugh when you look back at it. I look back at sleepless nights and thinking of how I was going to literally cry out of desperation, because the sun was coming up and I was so sleep deprived. Now I laugh at it.”