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In my fathers office hung a perfect group photo of my family.
We were all sitting up straight, smiling serenely, and facing the same direction.
This is a Best Take example photo from Google
We didnt have aGoogle Pixel 8withBest Takehelping us choose our best smiles and perfectly focused eyes.
We had to work for that perfect photo.
It wasnt easy, because I was nine and my sister was seven and we fought a lot.
This is a Best Take example photo from Google
If youve ever tried with your family, you know that it is far from effortless.
Do it yourself one time and youll hire a professional the next.
Taking that family photo, though, is a rite of passage.
The Google Pixel 8 taking photos and creating photos
I remember taking a family photo when I was nine, and its a cherished memory.
Every time I visited my Dads office, I saw our photo and remembered.
Theres not going to be a need to take a great group photo.
This is not the Grimlock of my childhood, but you get the idea
When I look at that photo, do I remember that moment that never really happened?
I certainly understand the appeal.
Except, what would I cherish?
The memory of … what exactly?
When I look at that photo, do I remember that moment that never really happened?
If we never had to work for the shot, there would be nothing to cherish anyway.
It would simply be another photo of all of us.
There wont just be one.
Photos arent just representations of us.
They arent a map that outlines our borders and oceans.
They capture a moment in time.
A specific moment that only happened once, because that is the nature of time.
It only happens once.
If all of my family photos are Best Take photos, they wont be a moment in time.
They never happened at all.
The other family photo
In my familys living room hung a terrible group photo of my family.
Well, its not terrible, it just would not have been appropriate for my Dads office.
It was perfect for our home.
My mother is sitting straight, but making a face with her eyes crossed.
You cant see it clearly in the photo, but I remember that was what she was doing.
I am sitting up, looking serious, and holdingGrimlock.
Yes, the Transformer, Grimlock.
He is in robot form, holding his sword aloft.
Grimlock was a gift for being good during the photo session.
Because my Mom was my Mom, I got the gift before I actually had to be good.
Then I proceeded to be not at all good.
Because it was Grimlock!
It was the original Grimlock, the Tyrannosaurus that transformed into a robot warrior.
It was inexplicably blinged out in polished golden accents, and it came with a big sword.
I couldnt put it down.
I wouldnt put it down.
I had to play with it right away.
The perfect photo, hanging on the office wall, was the only photo taken that day without Grimlock.
Im sure today you could simply Magic Eraser Grimlock out of the photo.
You could even grab Grimlock and make him much bigger.
I could make him the size of a real dinosaur / robot warrior.
It wouldnt be real, but I could do it.
We didnt choreograph the moment, or create it later from a pastiche of bad images.
It wasnt the best take, but its my favorite take by far.
