Get Ready For Family Photos With These Tips

Here’s a guest post with some tips for getting a great holiday family photo this year!

Christmas Card Photo session…fail (Photo credit: El Frito)

When the holidays draw near, families gather and it is time to think about great family photos. Whether the photos are formal and taken at a photography studio or informal shots taken from someone’s mobile phone, a little preparation makes them better. Here are a few ideas to prepare for family photos.

Holiday Photo Wardrobe

For best photo success, plan the wardrobe ahead of time. Since not all of the photos may be formal, choosing a wardrobe can include some casual clothing. However, pay attention to clothing colors. Busy patterns and loud colors tend to detract from the face. In your group photos, too many different patterns and colors will especially draw the eye to everyone’s clothes rather than their cheerful faces. Consider choosing dark colors, such as deep burgundy, wine, royal blue, black, dark green and navy blue. Simple patterns, such as pinstripes or small polka dots should not be a problem.

For family portraits, you should dress things up so that everyone looks his or her best. After all, you will likely send these photos to friends and relatives. Kids look adorable in formal clothing, and the holidays may be the one time during the year when they won’t put up a fuss about it. Try a trendy store, such as LilSwanky.com, for kids’ clothes that are great for photos.

Preparing for Group Photos

When it is time for a group photo, make sure the lighting is right. If the picture is taken outdoors, the group should not be facing the sun – this causes squinting. Indoors or outdoors, make sure the area is brightly lit. A shadow falling over faces makes everyone look tired and can be hard to edit out of the photo.

Make sure the shot will capture the whole group. Fortunately, today’s digital cameras and camera phones make it easy to snap the shot and then view it to see how it came out. Be prepared to take several shots, because you may notice things in the first few shots that you don’t want in the final picture, such as chocolate sauce on the baby’s chin.

Editing Photos

Always save the original photos in a separate file from your edited ones — this way you can always go back to use the original. With online photo editing, you can change the brightness and color saturation of photos to make them more attractive. You can also add fun artwork, special effects and text to your holiday photos.

Framing Photos

Choose special frames for your holiday photos. You may wish to create your own unique frames. Just visit a craft store for bare wood frames and add whatever you please to them.

Elizabeth (1812 Posts)

I'm Elizabeth, a 40-something Michigan wife and mother of three. I created Table for Five in 2005 as a way to connect with other Moms, and I've been blogging ever since. Please click the About tab at the top of the page to read more about me and my family! email: table4five@gmail.com