Tiffany Renfroe and her husband, Daniel, believe that life is too short to take everything so seriously — and their latest photo shoot is certainly proving just that. The Alabama photographer recently held a very special daddy-daughter photo shoot (or make that "deady-daughter") with her husband and their daughter in full zombie garb. And honestly, it might be the spookiest and most adorable thing we've seen in a while.
"Daniel and myself are very sarcastic, as people, [and] as parents," the photographer tells CafeMom.
But Tiffany, who owns Tifflynn Photography in addition to working as a labor and delivery nurse, also says they have another thing in common: "Our babies are our world," she shares, of Kaiden, 10, Gibson, 5, and Oakley, 11 months.
"We are active parents that would rather be doing things with them or giving them experiences over gifts or money (although they still are spoiled)," she quips.
Over the years, Daniel has been also steadily introducing his kids to his main passion: horror movies.
"My daughter Kaiden and him started watching The Walking Dead," she says. "It was their thing, waiting day by day for the next season."
As for Tiffany, she admits she's "not THAT into horror movies," but she allows her kids to watch the scary flicks once in a while with their dad, because they know they're fake.
"It wasn’t hurting them or making them scared," she says. "My kids are sweet and loving, so great in school, nonviolent, love others, and that’s all that matters to us as parents."
The idea for the creepy photo shoot only came to the mom when her husband lodged an informal complaint of sorts.
Tiffany says she had just come home from a trip to Oregon with 11-month-old Oakley, where her best friend took some photos of her and her daughter for a little "mommy-daughter" shoot.
"My husband, being funny when I got home, said in the whiniest voice, 'I didn’t get any daddy and daughter shoot!'" Tiffany recalls. "So my mind went to thinking and thinking."
In the meantime, she'd also been tagged online in several horror-movie-themed photo shoots by friends, who told her something like this would be right up her alley. And her husband — a known Michael Myers fan — had been tagged in several Halloween-themed posts himself.
Then, "after a few good draft beers," Tiffany says "the light flickered in my head!"
"I would combine the ideas that Daniel loves [and] Kaiden loves, and do a zombie shoot," she says.
"I honestly threw in the Michael Myers idea because I knew that would make Daniel super pumped about it," she admits. "So it took me about a week to put everything together, ideas, location (we drove around for days on our side by side looking for a spot) which the kids always love!"
Of course, it's not easy to get a baby to sit still while applying makeup, but Tiffany did her best to work with her antsy little girl.
On the day of the photo shoot, Tiffany first started with her husband's makeup.
"He sat propped up against the wall right next to Oakley’s toys. We hoped she would just play while we worked on his," she recalls. "But just like a curious 11-month-old, she was right up in our business!"
Ultimately, the mom decided to compromise.
"I would do some of Daniel's, then smudge a little on her, do a little more of his and smudge again on hers. Brushes on him; brushes on her. She was even attempting to help with the makeup brushes! It was a game to her!" she shares with a laugh, adding that she edited Oakley's eyes after the photos were taken.
In the end, it took two hours to get her daughter into full makeup, but the process was so fun, this mama didn't mind.
"There was no getting her to stay still. I worked in her world and made it fun — the tricks moms know how to pull when they need or want things done," she says.
After completing her masterpiece, Tiffany posted the photos online, where they quickly took off.
Tiffany first shared the photos on Facebook, where some 57,000 people have shrieked (aka, liked) how frightfully good they are. They've also been shared more than 115,000 times.
"It totally took off!" Tiffany shares. "I mean, I had hoped it would get some attention but would have never guessed it would do this!"
So far, the reactions have been mostly positive, she says. But there were a few people who weren't thrilled with the photos.
"I am so humble for the reaction and support from the people who stand behind me, defending me as a person not even really knowing me," says Tiffany.
Most of all, Tiffany hopes her photos will inspire others to get creative, and she is grateful for the quality time she got to spend with her family.
"Although it is a 'dead' shoot, it was very much alive!" she explains. "[There were] rides on country roads, lots of laughs and giggles, Halloween music, lots of snacking on my props, adventures in the woods discovering wildlife. … All of us together."
In other words: "Whatever you choose to do with your children, do something with them!" the mom tells CafeMom. "Children need our time, they need us, they need laughs, giggles, hugs, and adventure! That is what they will remember! They aren’t going to remember eating cake and berries off of some fake intestines until the photos are shared at her wedding."
When asked about her easy-breezy parenting-style, Tiffany says she's happy to follow her own path.
"I am a mom to my three babies, not your classic mom," she says. "I’m the mom who lets them go barefoot and make messes, but I am also the mom that makes sure they are safe in the world, are loved and feel loved, and are respectful and loving to all people. The rest will follow."
