I bet the story behind this picture is that dad works in the cell phone business, maybe he owns a store, maybe he is a star “sales associate” for a cell phone company. In any case, he’s doing pretty well, so the whole family is proud of it. The concept of everybody holding a cell phone was probably dad’s, as he is the one with the bigger smile. Mom probably works at dad’s phone store too, but maybe not full-time as she has to take care of the kids. I suspect she chose the matching outfits for dad and son.
This photo is all kinds of awesome!! Carefree yuppies enjoying their rad phones and connected lifestyle. I love that dad has a pager to top it all off. I bet they also had a car phone—the kind that was actually installed into the car with a huge receiver on a cord.
Maybe I’m partial because I had the mom’s classy outfit, right down to the shoulderpads and shiny nude nylons.
A phone in the bag setup would work perfectly in this photo, driving up the win factor of it. My dad had one of those setups, and I hadn’t thought about it for years until I saw a MacGyver episode where he was using a phone in the bag in his jeep. I almost died!
This photo has some serious foreshadowing, where everyone and their 3-year-old has a cell phone!!
I think I may have owned all those kinds of cell phones…I was the first person I knew to have a cell phone, but I wan’t cool, I mainly called my mom with it; it was to big to fit in a pocket, had <30 minutes talk time, 4-5 hours of standby and took close to 8 hours to charge.
makes me recall those huge cordless phones with the big rubber antennas. funny now but they sure got better reception than the crap they make these days.
When I was little and took group photos with a girl I liked, I would center on her without regard for where everyone else fell in the frame. I think the photographer had a thing for the mom.
What is so crazy and wierd is that the younger boy has two phones. One up to his ear and the other just kinda out there. WTH??? This is a very Awkward pic. Thanks for sharing Katie.
This reminds me of growing up in the Chicago suburbs, in an area where lots of the kids had dads who were engineers at Motorola. Naturally those families were the first to get those crazy “phones that fold up and you can take with you”, and they were really into showing it off, too.
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afp
Dad’s wearing a white watch–or is it a Swatch? Hmmmm…..
“hold on, i’ll get the toaster!”
FUNNY!
Hah. At the time cellular phones were an obvious indicator of wealth. Way to be subtle.
lolz!
That guy is worth 80 billion dollars now.
i do belive that is a young Zack morris
I bet the story behind this picture is that dad works in the cell phone business, maybe he owns a store, maybe he is a star “sales associate” for a cell phone company. In any case, he’s doing pretty well, so the whole family is proud of it. The concept of everybody holding a cell phone was probably dad’s, as he is the one with the bigger smile. Mom probably works at dad’s phone store too, but maybe not full-time as she has to take care of the kids. I suspect she chose the matching outfits for dad and son.
I had a boss who had a huge phone like Dad’s. What was hilarious was when he’d stuff it in the back pocket of his pants.
The dad kinda reminds me of Bernie Kopel of Love Boat/Get Smart fame.And how huge are those old phones??
Is this how we’ll look in about 10 years?
try 20
Power dressing and massive mobile phones. What an era!
Zack Morris, eat your heart out…
Hahaha…that was my first thought, too!
The 2000s called. They want their irony back.
This photo is all kinds of awesome!! Carefree yuppies enjoying their rad phones and connected lifestyle. I love that dad has a pager to top it all off. I bet they also had a car phone—the kind that was actually installed into the car with a huge receiver on a cord.
Maybe I’m partial because I had the mom’s classy outfit, right down to the shoulderpads and shiny nude nylons.
the boy has a bag phone, this is just a little odd
Oh, a pager too! This family is big pimpin’!
What? No “Bag” Phone?
The boy has it… its around his sholder.
This is just plainly an awkward family photo.
Nude nylons. Nice.
Awesome alliteration!
Does anyone else think that kid on the end could totally be Macaulay Culkin?
Yes!!!!
A phone in the bag setup would work perfectly in this photo, driving up the win factor of it. My dad had one of those setups, and I hadn’t thought about it for years until I saw a MacGyver episode where he was using a phone in the bag in his jeep. I almost died!
This photo has some serious foreshadowing, where everyone and their 3-year-old has a cell phone!!
*YUP* I hear you!
Looks like Doc from “The Love Boat” finally settled down and started a family.
As much as Dr. and Mrs. Bricker thought the portrait exuded “togetherness”, most other people could tell they were just phoning it in.
Man, I’m just hoping that the photographer is wearing a lead suit.
The parents seemed a little mis-matched. He must have made a lot of money.
I thought the same
ditto
The only thing missing? A bananaphone!
I agree gree!
I thought I was the only one who knew about the bananaphone network! Nice!
I think I may have owned all those kinds of cell phones…I was the first person I knew to have a cell phone, but I wan’t cool, I mainly called my mom with it; it was to big to fit in a pocket, had <30 minutes talk time, 4-5 hours of standby and took close to 8 hours to charge.
makes me recall those huge cordless phones with the big rubber antennas. funny now but they sure got better reception than the crap they make these days.
And you could fry an egg in 10 minutes with them too.
Wow! Love the Motorola ‘Brick’ cell phone Dad is holding. That was a huge status symbol thing to have in 1988. Too funny
Cover art for Jethro Tull’s “Thick as a Brick – Cell Phone Remix”
The photographer was so excited by this concept, he snapped the photo and almost cropped out the boy.
When I was little and took group photos with a girl I liked, I would center on her without regard for where everyone else fell in the frame. I think the photographer had a thing for the mom.
Hello Dad?..I can’t find mom.
“She’s hiding behind the phone!”
Love this picture; it’s like a late ’80′s time capsule. Check out mom’s Joan Collins-esque shoulder pads.
Is this an ad for the family business?
Lets see if i remember…….. four 1 minute phone calls and a page will cost you 94 dollars please.
Now that’s funny! I don’t care who you are. . . .that’s funny!
Apparently they were too busy talking on their phones and forgot to iron their khakis.
Is that kid Macaulay Culkin, aka Kevin McAllister? If his whole family had had cell phones maybe he wouldn’t have been left Home Alone.
omg. that was my first thought, too!! that’s macaulay culkin!
What is so crazy and wierd is that the younger boy has two phones. One up to his ear and the other just kinda out there. WTH??? This is a very Awkward pic. Thanks for sharing Katie.
It looks like he’s using the second phone to potentially blow something up.
That’s not a second phone that is the base for the handset in his hand.
No, I think that’s a SAT phone.
They were all calling dad’s pager. He’s like dr beeper on caddyshack!
“Awkward Family Photo Hotline, how may we help you?”
I love this comment as much as I love the picture! \o/
ha! Perfect!
Perfect! I feel a contract coming…
I wonder if there’s another shot with them all sitting at their Kaypro computers.
All dad is missing is his pocket protector. And he is obviously loaded to score a wife like that.
She looks like she could be his daughter.
This reminds me of growing up in the Chicago suburbs, in an area where lots of the kids had dads who were engineers at Motorola. Naturally those families were the first to get those crazy “phones that fold up and you can take with you”, and they were really into showing it off, too.
Why, the better to hear the nerdiness with. Except the wife. Hubba hubba.
Wow… That Verizon guy sure got a lot hotter once he grew up!
Wow love the pager on the dad too! 80s Power Couple