The holiday season is right around the corner and with it comes the stress of the perfect family photo. This is the photo we post on social media, include in our holiday cards and share as gifts for the grandparents. It is understandable that you want capture your family at their very best. The key to a stress-free photo is flexibility, preparedness and just being yourselves.
What should we wear?
You are a family, so you want to show some form of connection, but let your different personalities shine through. Don’t force your tomboy daughter to wear a dress like her sisters if it makes her uncomfortable. If you want her to bring that smile you love, help her to pick out something more her style. For a cohesive picture, choose a color theme but don’t make everyone wear the same blue shirt. Let your individuality show by wearing slightly different shades of blue in patterns or solids mixed in with neutral colors like black or khaki.
Setting
Choose a place that defines who you are as a family. Shabby chic barn scenes are very popular right now, but if your family prefers the beach, the mountains or a baseball field, capture your holiday picture in those settings. You may also consider using your home as your setting. Choose your front porch, favorite tree or in front of the fireplace. Don’t discount photo studio backgrounds. The benefit of taking the photo indoors means no rainouts and better control of the lighting.
How should we pose?
If you look back on the first family pictures, taken in the late 1800’s, everyone is seated around the eldest family members and looking into the camera. This formal pose in classic, but limiting. Why not get on the floor, climb a tree or hold up signs. Pinterest is a great source for finding family photo poses with and without props.
Pets or not?
Pets are very much a part of our family but don’t always cooperate as we would like them to. A few years ago, we chose to include our two black labs in our family photo taken in a forest preserve. There were so many distractions for our dogs including other people, animals and smells, that we chose to only include them in one pose. The picture shows our human family all smiling for the camera while our dogs looked in opposite directions, unable to understand our pleas to look at the photographer.
Have fun with it!
Find a way to tell your family’s story in picture. Family friends of ours are St. Louis Cardinal fans and decided to take a family picture in their jerseys. Their youngest daughter, a Cubs fan, chose to wear her team’s jersey. In the picture, the Cubs fan stood in the middle with a big smile on her face while her family of Cardinal fans stood around her frowning with their arms crossed.
Limit meltdowns
Give yourself plenty of time to take the photographs you want and schedule them around your family’s best time of the day. Make sure everyone has eaten before picture time and bring back up snacks for unexpected delays. When my kids were younger, I was not ashamed to bring bribes – candy or a small toy as a reward for keeping it together. Allow your child’s favorite toy or blanket to be included in the picture, even if it is not picture worthy. You are capturing a moment and at that moment, that is part of your child.
Bring a friend
No, I am not suggesting that everyone brings a friend to your photo session. What I am suggesting is that you have a trusted friend who can make you all laugh, get the attention of a distracted baby or pet and see the picture through the eyes of someone who knows your family. A professional photographer might not know it annoys you that your son clenches his teeth when he smiles, but your friend can help to make him relax and show his natural smile.
Professional or Amateur
We have taken our family pictures ourselves, allowed a friend to take them, used a mall photographer and a professional photographer both offsite and in our home. I have honestly liked them all for different reasons. Choose the one that fits your budget and the best way to tell your families story today – not what you think your story should look like in 10 years.
