Love the picture! To the person that stated this is not your “typical” Santa.. I live in the DFW area of Texas and all of the malls we have patroned this year have had Santas with real white hair and long white beards. It is very typical for our area. Sad if it is not the case where you live.
I agree. I have seen 4 Santas in the malls and elsewhere since moving here just over a year ago (2nd Christmas here) and 3 of the 4 have had real beards and tummies.
I know this person, who’s daughter this is. Let me interject on their behalf that this is a photographer who takes pics of kids sitting on Santas knee. This is not photoshopped or staged. Just wanted to add that in.
not photoshopped/faked – it’s by a friend of mine from College
and yeah – some company/advertising agency should try to nab the rights to this it’s that good
I assure you this was not staged or photoshopped. It was taken at our chiropractor’s office during his annual Christmas party (thus the shelf behind the chair). I’m a semi-professional photographer with a nice camera so that’s why it has a professional feel to it.
All the banter about the girl being too pretty and the picture being too nice is all about the nicest thing we could hear. Merry Christmas.
P.S. She was adopted through foster care. Other kids just like her are waiting for a home this Christmas.
Wilford Brimley is SO busy all year, and this is the one job where he gets to sit down a lot. If he dozes off, we should cut him some slack–it’s not easy pimping diabetic meters the rest of the year.
Also, real-beard Santas are definitely FTW! We’ve been to THREE Santas here and all had real beards. I’m just sayin.
Will all cynics please file a straight line in front of the COAL pile to receive your individual piece of coal. Photoshopped, staged, where’s the Christmas spirit?
IDK I prefer my coal in a container WITH A LID, NOT ALUMINUM FOIL! I COULD NOT BE MORE SERIOUS when I am providing you with your instructions and orders. I am very particular, so please perform your task EXACTLY as I have requested and read your portion very carefully.
I don’t think it is photoshopped, staged or a sleeping santa. I think they caught him mid blink, it was the end of his shift, he was sick of hearing about Nintendo DS and Zhu Zhu pets… he was resting his head on his hand… he blinked..and CLICK!
Unable to convince Isabella that he was simply Santa Claus and not a dermatologist, ‘ole Saint Nick feigned sleep when she kept insisting on a clear complexion for Christmas.
I’d call it ‘professionally awkward’. From the little girl’s point of view, Santa falling asleep, and not giving her his full, alert and undivided attention, is an awkward situation. From the point of view of adults familiar with the behavior of children her age – 4 to 6 year olds are quite capable of chattering on until the adult’s ears fall off – it is a very sweet and somewhat funny portrait.
I think it is professionally done. Real-beard Santas are not your typical store Santas, and he’s likely making decent money doing these posed portraits. The focus, framing, and color saturation of the shot, along with the apparent natural look, strongly suggest a pro studio. This ain’t no mall polaroid.
This is what happens when you sacrifice hiring a spry 20 year old with a fake beard to hire an 80 year old with a real one…one too many warm ovaltines and santas dozing off mid-dora-accessory list.
(ps: why does there always have to be the string of people claiming a pic is not awkward? obviously if they made the cut, theyre at least a -little- awkward. no one is being insulted, no one needs ‘defending’ so keep it to yourself)
I agree, if someone entered it as awkward then the owner of the pic certainly felt like it was! Some of us might not get it but whatever, ya know? Let the rest of us enjoy it.
How about you just let people speak their mind and stop complaining about people giving their opinion? You are always free to “enjoy it”, nobody is making you read these comments… Also, awkward photos are only truly awkward if they are real life happenings, not staged photos… anyone can go out there, take a staged shot, and submit it as “awkward”. But it’s only truly funny and awkward if it was a real life situation. Regardless, it’s still a cute pic!
BTW, just because AFP posts a pic, it doesn’t make it awkward. They need people commenting to keep ‘em on track. There are a ton of pics/emails on this site that were not worth posting due to a lack of awkwardness.
Horrors! A posed, professional picture of a kid with Santa Claus! I do so prefer those candid, spontaneous, unposed pictures with Santa.
(And I think an ad shot wouldn’t have that odd shelf thing on the left, assuming this hasn’t been cropped. But, broadly and in general, WHY DOES IT MATTER ANYWAY?! The site has moderators — additional Picture Cops don’t seem all that necessary, really.)
Hah! Touche — you’re absolutely right, CarpoolMom. But the photocopz who turn up in every thread lately do take some out of the enjoyment out of the site for me.
Meredith,
You just made my day with that comment. I’m her mom and I get to spend all day running my fingers through her awesome hair–and, occasionally, wrestling her to let me comb it!
Having just taken several hundred Santa photos at my children’s elementary school, believe me when I say sometimes the photographer feels this way, too!
I assure you this was not staged or photoshopped. It was taken at our chiropractor’s office during his annual Christmas party (thus the shelf behind the chair). I’m a semi-professional photographer with a nice camera so that’s why it has a professional feel to it.
All the banter about the girl being too pretty and the picture being too nice is all about the nicest thing we could hear. Merry Christmas.
P.S. She was adopted through foster care. Other kids just like her are waiting for a home this Christmas.
Thank you for the clarification. I apologise to. We also do foster care and have guardianship of two beautiful girls, one with autism. I hope some day AFP will post one of the photos I sent in with her in it. She’s looking adorable at my camera while my son looks like he’s gonna… Don’t want to spoil it, but I have to admit, although it’s not a staged photo it also looks like it could be.
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afp
This little girl looks a LOT like Selena Gomez.
BEAUTIFUL photo. Has a very Norman Rockwell fell to it.
“Ho Ho Ho! Santa’s not sleeping children, I’m just resting my eyes.”
Most gorgeous Santa ever!
Love the picture! To the person that stated this is not your “typical” Santa.. I live in the DFW area of Texas and all of the malls we have patroned this year have had Santas with real white hair and long white beards. It is very typical for our area. Sad if it is not the case where you live.
Merry Christmas!!!
I agree. I have seen 4 Santas in the malls and elsewhere since moving here just over a year ago (2nd Christmas here) and 3 of the 4 have had real beards and tummies.
I know this person, who’s daughter this is. Let me interject on their behalf that this is a photographer who takes pics of kids sitting on Santas knee. This is not photoshopped or staged. Just wanted to add that in.
not photoshopped/faked – it’s by a friend of mine from College
and yeah – some company/advertising agency should try to nab the rights to this it’s that good
Thanks for all the love.
I assure you this was not staged or photoshopped. It was taken at our chiropractor’s office during his annual Christmas party (thus the shelf behind the chair). I’m a semi-professional photographer with a nice camera so that’s why it has a professional feel to it.
All the banter about the girl being too pretty and the picture being too nice is all about the nicest thing we could hear. Merry Christmas.
P.S. She was adopted through foster care. Other kids just like her are waiting for a home this Christmas.
Please tell her family they MUST use this as their Christmas cards this year. It’s PRICELESS!
What a fantastic photograph! My compliments.
signed,
A former in-store portrait photographer
That little girl is stunning. And her clothes are beautiful
Merry Christmas!
Wilford Brimley is SO busy all year, and this is the one job where he gets to sit down a lot. If he dozes off, we should cut him some slack–it’s not easy pimping diabetic meters the rest of the year.
Also, real-beard Santas are definitely FTW! We’ve been to THREE Santas here and all had real beards. I’m just sayin.
Will all cynics please file a straight line in front of the COAL pile to receive your individual piece of coal. Photoshopped, staged, where’s the Christmas spirit?
Are you related to Marnie?
Should I bring a regulation-sized coal-dish to put it in?
IDK I prefer my coal in a container WITH A LID, NOT ALUMINUM FOIL! I COULD NOT BE MORE SERIOUS when I am providing you with your instructions and orders. I am very particular, so please perform your task EXACTLY as I have requested and read your portion very carefully.
Love the photo!
Staged not staged, I don’t really care I think it is priceless. and of course it is awkward, Santa is not supposed to lepp until AFTER Christmas.
PS I think from her list someone forgot to tell the girl that this is a recession LOL
Agreed! Who cares if it was staged? It would make one of the BEST Christmas cards ever for her family!
I don’t think it is photoshopped, staged or a sleeping santa. I think they caught him mid blink, it was the end of his shift, he was sick of hearing about Nintendo DS and Zhu Zhu pets… he was resting his head on his hand… he blinked..and CLICK!
Unable to convince Isabella that he was simply Santa Claus and not a dermatologist, ‘ole Saint Nick feigned sleep when she kept insisting on a clear complexion for Christmas.
I’d call it ‘professionally awkward’. From the little girl’s point of view, Santa falling asleep, and not giving her his full, alert and undivided attention, is an awkward situation. From the point of view of adults familiar with the behavior of children her age – 4 to 6 year olds are quite capable of chattering on until the adult’s ears fall off – it is a very sweet and somewhat funny portrait.
I think it is professionally done. Real-beard Santas are not your typical store Santas, and he’s likely making decent money doing these posed portraits. The focus, framing, and color saturation of the shot, along with the apparent natural look, strongly suggest a pro studio. This ain’t no mall polaroid.
not awkward, it looks cute actually, and it makes me think its not real, i mean, this was made on purpose
Looks like Santa took one sip too many from the flask on his last break.
It is awkward look at the little girl’s face again… she is like “so I should get off now”
lol. To me it looked like she’s trying to think of what else she wants. The “pondering” pose. I like your interpretation too.
adorable. probably mom and dad’s idea. real beard santas FTW
off-topic: i see that all the time what does FTW mean?
“For the win”
For The Win.
For the win
This is what happens when you sacrifice hiring a spry 20 year old with a fake beard to hire an 80 year old with a real one…one too many warm ovaltines and santas dozing off mid-dora-accessory list.
(ps: why does there always have to be the string of people claiming a pic is not awkward? obviously if they made the cut, theyre at least a -little- awkward. no one is being insulted, no one needs ‘defending’ so keep it to yourself)
God, really. Just shut up with the STAGED, NOT AWKWARD, PHOTOSHOPPED comments. No one cares. It doesn’t matter even if they are for christ’s sake.
I agree, if someone entered it as awkward then the owner of the pic certainly felt like it was! Some of us might not get it but whatever, ya know? Let the rest of us enjoy it.
How about you just let people speak their mind and stop complaining about people giving their opinion?
You are always free to “enjoy it”, nobody is making you read these comments… Also, awkward photos are only truly awkward if they are real life happenings, not staged photos… anyone can go out there, take a staged shot, and submit it as “awkward”. But it’s only truly funny and awkward if it was a real life situation. Regardless, it’s still a cute pic! 
BTW, just because AFP posts a pic, it doesn’t make it awkward. They need people commenting to keep ‘em on track. There are a ton of pics/emails on this site that were not worth posting due to a lack of awkwardness.
You go Clay! Yes it’s STAGED and NOT AWKWARD. Funny how some folks are soooooo touchy…..
Yes its a sweet picture. Santa ‘falling asleep’ is the awkward part.
Seems a bit posed to me… especially with the lighting. Looks too perfect and slightly professional.
Horrors! A posed, professional picture of a kid with Santa Claus! I do so prefer those candid, spontaneous, unposed pictures with Santa.
(And I think an ad shot wouldn’t have that odd shelf thing on the left, assuming this hasn’t been cropped. But, broadly and in general, WHY DOES IT MATTER ANYWAY?! The site has moderators — additional Picture Cops don’t seem all that necessary, really.)
Well then stop policing the comments others make!
Hah! Touche — you’re absolutely right, CarpoolMom. But the photocopz who turn up in every thread lately do take some out of the enjoyment out of the site for me.
Carpoolmom, please see magic pink’s comment just below
. I think that’s Bridey’s point too.
Poor santa, they probably caught him in the middle of a blink.
This looks like an advertisement. If it’s not, it should be.
Santa’s old. He probably has to nap.
AW! Priceless!
I am totally distracted by the awesomeness of her hair. It’s movie-star thick and shiny!
Meredith,
You just made my day with that comment. I’m her mom and I get to spend all day running my fingers through her awesome hair–and, occasionally, wrestling her to let me comb it!
Merry Christmas.
I’m her Aunt & I am jealous of her hair every time I see her. =0)
What a great looking Santa and a beautiful little girl!
Bet he wakes up with a start, shouting “VENISON!”
Win!
This is a lovely shot. It is sweet, not awkward.
Having just taken several hundred Santa photos at my children’s elementary school, believe me when I say sometimes the photographer feels this way, too!
This is obviously photoshopped…geez.
Are you serious?
Love it!!
I agree with CarpoolMom! Staged!
Not Awkward at all and I think its actually set up seems like a brat to me ! I love the photos of the kids screaming on santas lap
My shrink has the same response every time we have a session.
Win
It looks staged to me, like it’s some kind of advertisement or promotion for something.
I was thinking the same thing. Totally posed.
Thanks for all the love.
I assure you this was not staged or photoshopped. It was taken at our chiropractor’s office during his annual Christmas party (thus the shelf behind the chair). I’m a semi-professional photographer with a nice camera so that’s why it has a professional feel to it.
All the banter about the girl being too pretty and the picture being too nice is all about the nicest thing we could hear. Merry Christmas.
P.S. She was adopted through foster care. Other kids just like her are waiting for a home this Christmas.
Thank you for the clarification. I apologise to. We also do foster care and have guardianship of two beautiful girls, one with autism. I hope some day AFP will post one of the photos I sent in with her in it. She’s looking adorable at my camera while my son looks like he’s gonna… Don’t want to spoil it, but I have to admit, although it’s not a staged photo it also looks like it could be.
What a beautiful little girl.
I was just thinking the same thing.
This is really more adorable than awkward.
Yes it is adorable. Unless old Santy Claus has been hitting the eggnog!
Visions of cookies and milk are dancing in his head.
i think that’s the real santa claus.
Sweet, charming, and not at all awkward.
You took the words right out of my keyboard.
not awkward, but hilarious that farther christmas is apparently the one with visions of sugar plums dancing in his head, lol