Notices from school are coming in announcing picture day. What! Already? Although the holiday season is a few months away, the notices reminded me that I need to start thinking about our holiday card and sifting through all the photos that I’ve taken this year. Our holiday card features our beautiful kiddos but I also like including one photo of all of us. Having a family portrait is important to me because I have very few photographs of my entire family when I was growing up. My mom was always the one behind the camera and most of the photos are of me and my siblings. When I started my family, I simultaneously committed to create opportunities to capture a few moments each year with everyone in the photo. Here are the most helpful tips I’ve learned along the way.

GETTING THE “MONEY SHOT”

Tip #1 – Plan for lots of photos. The “money shot” is that perfect image where everyone looks good. In my experience, it takes at least 25 photos in one sitting just to get a few that come out well. If you have very young children, you may need to double the amount of photos that have to be taken. If you have a dog, triple it.

{I love this photo, but didn’t use it for the final holiday card because my son’s face was partly hidden}

Tip #2 – Make them laugh. When children are asked to smile for a photo on cue, it is forced. It doesn’t look like a genuine smile (because it isn’t) and those images are destined to be erased. Making my children laugh by joking around or giving them a little tickle, gives me instant candid smiles that make the photo more natural. If you are using a professional photographer, they should know exactly what to do or say to get the giggles started.

Tip #3 – Be prepared to reward them. The biggest obstacle I have to overcome is getting my children to be patient, sitting for photos is not fun when you are young. Overall, they have been really good sports because they know how important it is to me. I will admit that I have had to resort to bribery or beatings (kidding! on the beatings).

THE BEST OCCASIONS FOR PHOTOS

Tip #4 – Seize the day. Family photos don’t have to be scheduled with a photographer. There are several opportunities throughout the year that a family portrait can be taken, the key to this is planning ahead and communicating your needs. Some of the best occasions to get a photo is when you are going on vacation, attending a wedding, a birthday, a christening, a family reunion or any other celebratory event where your family will all be together. On these occasions, everyone is looking their best and there are plenty of people who can take the photo. Plan ahead by coordinating your entire family’s attire (more on that below) and let your family and the host know that you are going to slip away for 10-15 minutes to get some photos. Ideally, you’ll want to get the photos done shortly after you arrive as long as the timing doesn’t interfere with anything (i.e. make sure that you have a window of time so you don’t miss Grandma blowing out her candles).

WHAT TO WEAR

Tip #5 – Coordinate your clothing. One of the most important tips to achieving a beautiful family photo is attire. It is a subtle element of the photo that can make a huge difference! When we go on holiday, I specifically pack clothes for everyone in the family that coordinates for a potential photo opp. I am not talking about matching mother and daughter dresses or everyone in white. What I mean is selecting clothes that compliment each other and that are also appropriate for where you are. If you are taking your family photo on a beach, a resort or somewhere warm and sunny, I’d pull out all the stops and wear bright or pastel colors – white, green, pink, blue and don’t be afraid of patterns! Guys look good in a checkered shirt paired with blue pants/jeans or a solid light blue or pink shirt with khakis.

I usually start the process with my son’s wardrobe because he has fewer “dress” clothes than anyone (he’s 11 and lives in Under Armour athletic wear). Once I have found a couple of pieces of his to anchor the color theme, I move on to my husband’s clothes and then round it out with my daughters’ and my clothes.

{I started with my son’s bright, multi-colored checkered shirt and built the rest of the wardrobe from there}

For the family portrait I used in this example, I scouted out the location first (more on that below) and coordinated our clothes with where we were going to be. The photos were taken on a crisp autumn day and I wanted our clothes to be in keeping with the time of year. My son’s checkered shirt was the inspiration piece for the entire wardrobe. The bright blue matched the same blue in a flannel shirt that my husband had, and the red gave me the idea for my red sweater coat and my daughter’s red jacket. My husband and I wore brown leather (his jacket & belt and my boots) to tie it all together.

PLANNING A PHOTO SHOOT

Tip #6 – Scout out a location. For our most recent family portrait, I knew I wanted the image to reflect Connecticut in the fall. Connecticut’s architecture is an interesting blend of charming historic homes and farms to stately waterfront mansions along the Gold Coast. One of the quintessential New England images (to me) are the barns that I see – regardless of where I am in the state. I found a historic barn/museum and called ahead to make sure that it was okay for us to take photos with their weathered white barn as a backdrop.

{I was thrilled to find this historic barn and loved the weathered white paint that would be an ideal backdrop}

GO PRO OR DO-IT-YOURSELF

Tip #7 – Hire a photographer. When we go on holiday, most of the resorts have a photographer on staff who will take photos of your family. Every resort will offer different packages and fees, for the most part I’ve found them to be around $100 and the price includes a CD of your photos. If you are taking the photos locally, find a photographer and check out their online gallery to see if you like their style and ask friends for recommendations. We used Neil Landino, owner of Landino Photo for these photos. I can’t say enough great things about Neil, who in addition to his own business, is a regular freelance photographer for Connecticut Cottages and Gardens.

{Neil Landino giving tips to my son}

Tip #8 – Do-it-yourself. If you have a decent camera (I have a Canon EOS Rebel T5i) they have built-in timers that can be used as an alternative to hiring a professional. The trick is to find a place to rest the camera. I’ve used rocks, cars, fireplace mantles, tables, you name it. If you are a DIYer and love photos, I’d suggest buying a tripod. They are so inexpensive and well worth the investment over the years. And if you decide to invest in a tripod (to my readers with small children, this is sounding suspiciously like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie book), I highly recommend a remote trigger. These are also inexpensive and save you the trouble of having to get up and push the button and race back to your spot before the shot is taken. Just take time to get everyone in position, leaving room for you in the frame, and focus the image. I take a few test shots to make sure everyone is centered, the camera settings are correct and that it is focused. After that, I join in and press the remote until I have a good amount of photos to preview. Another option is to ask a friend to take the photos. Cameras are so fool-proof that once you get everyone in place and set up the shot, a warm body to push the trigger button is sometimes all you need!

FINDING THE PERFECT HOLIDAY CARD

Tip #9 – Look through all the photos and find 5-6 images that you absolutely LOVE. This is the first step to designing your photo card. The orientation of the photos (portrait or landscape), the number of photos, and if photos can be cropped, will all help guide you to choosing the final layout of your photo card. So begin with your favorites but be prepared that you may not be able to use all of them.{this is the holiday card from last year, our children are on the front and the photo of all of us is on the back}

Tip #10 – Pick a photo card that will coordinate with the colors in your photos. There are several companies that offer beautiful photo cards in a wide variety of layouts and colors; minted.com, peartreegreetings.com, simplytoimpress.com and tinyprints.com are among my favorites. Shop online until you find the card that you like best and begin personalizing it. I love the fact that you can see the final product before you order the cards. Frequently, I play around with 2-3 designs and save them and wait a day or so before I revisit them to see which one speaks to me the most. I chose a grey, red and white card to pick up the colors from our clothes. I hope that you found this tips helpful! If so, please take a moment and “like” my facebook page here. Thank you!