 On a cool autumn evening, in a quiet seaside hamlet, a cast of characters fills the town center—among them the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, Dorothy and Glinda the Good Witch. They are joined by a smattering of superheroes, princesses and rock stars. But this is no ordinary October day in New England. It’s Halloween and the harbor square is closed to traffic so that families like the Swans can take to the streets in search of mystery, adventure and yes, candy.
 Toto, this isn’t Kansas
To the casual observer it may look like the Swans are just out for a little fun and entertainment, but Halloween is a serious endeavor for this troupe. Planning starts as early as mid-summer. “We have a large group to dress in theme. My family of five plus Auntie Lizzie and Grammie. The kids LOVE that everyone dresses up and they have opinions about what they want to be. So we hash out a lot of ideas between August and October to come up with a theme everyone feels comfortable with.”
Holidays are a family affair for Kristin Swan and so are the photo books that commemorate them. “My mother Margaret of Marlou Designs is our ’staff photographer.’ She takes the pictures and then I lay them out to tell the story.” Margaret, aka Grammie, takes them as she sees them. “I am constantly working the crowd, making them feel comfortable and many times talking and shooting simultaneously. It is amazing how you can get people to relax in front of a camera with a little conversation. My only prep is to move people into better positions so that I can capture a nice backdrop or something of interest. But other than that — I just shoot away.”
 Off to see the Wizard
For all the holidays, but Halloween especially, there’s an opportunity to capture a transformation of mood and spirit. Jack-o’-lanterns are lit; kids wiggle into costume; make-up is applied. Slowly the family is transported to Oz. Kristin remarked, “we all embraced our parts to the fullest. The path to the harbor became the menacing yellow brick road. You never knew if the wicked witch was going to pounce from behind a tree to scare the Cowardly Lion!”
Grammie captured all the shots from start to finish. But to get in on the action, she employed her trusted assistants. “My grandkids Payton (age seven) and Cam (age five) have become very good helpers. I always bring extra cameras and encourage the kids to use them. Payton likes to take pictures of me and when she’s busy, my daughter takes the pictures. It is important to us to include everyone in our family memories.”
 Dressing up as a family has become a highly anticipated family tradition for the Swans. “I wanted the kids to remember these special moments when they got older so creating the Halloween photo book became part of the ritual.” The Swans put equal energy into other yearly celebrations. “Birthdays are a HUGE deal. They are always theme-based and documented by Grammie. Christmas is another holiday which is a very big deal.”
Pay no attention to that Grammie behind the shutter
Margaret’s approach to taking family photos is simple. “I like it to be fun, free flowing and easy. I shoot hundreds of pictures and take the best of the best. When you take a lot, you are guaranteed to get enough to tell a story.”
Narrowing down all the shots can be overwhelming so Kristin begins a project by thinking of the story she wants to tell. That’s why Kristin says creating photo books around specific family events is much easier, when someone is a first-time photo booker, than starting with a Year in Review. “Birthdays and special events such as Halloween get their own book. And other memories for the year get memorialized in our yearly album.”
The dynamic duo
Kristin and Margaret average seven photo books a year, many of which can be found in the Shutterfly Gallery. Their Halloween spin to Oz took only two hours to complete. “I try to create the photo books soon after the special event. It’s much easier to tell the story with the memories fresh in your mind. Even for the year in review I try to pick the pictures as I get them.”
What can we expect from the Swan’s for Halloween 2008? Topping the list are Superheroes or Super Villains. Keep an eye on the Shutterfly Gallery to find out.
Explore their photo book.
Learn how to create your own photo book.
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