How to Take a Festive, Family Holiday Photo!

 

You know the holidays are here when:

1. Love Actually starts playing on tv.
2. You start getting invitations to Ugly Christmas Sweater parties.
3. Photo cards start flooding your mailbox.

Speaking of, there’s still time to whip up a fun, festive shoot for this year’s family holiday card! Like the one I did of my Little G and his cousins, Mekhi and Elia, just last weekend. We reenacted the classic “Getting the Tree” shot in my parents’ backyard using a couple well-thought out props to tell the story. (We used just the top third of an artificial tree here to get the right proportions!)

Elia was a ham to work with. Mekhi only smiles for me when he thinks no one else is looking. And Little G, well, he just loves the camera. Obvi. All in all, we captured some fun funny photos that day that we’d be proud to put on a holiday card . . . coming soon to a mailbox near you!

So, how do you snap adorably cute/funny holiday photos of your toddler?

• Research locations. Is there a place in your town that reminds you of the season? Maybe it is the cheery, red fire station or the Christmas tree lot in the Home Depot down the street, or even more simply, your own home––you know, where the heart is!
• Check out Pinterest for inspiration. My holiday photos of Little G from one year ago have been repined an astounding 41,000 times on Pinterest! So get online stat, there is a whole world out there waiting for you to pin!
• Let her have fun and be spontaneous. Forget the poses and reminding her to say “Cheese!” at the camera. Candid shots often come out better for toddler-age children due to their mobility and big personalities, like these of Little G, Elia, and Mekhi. Save the posing for infants!
• Explore different angles. Look at your child from above, below, and through things in the environment. Chances are, you will elicit a silly, melt-your-heart smile from your little one when they see you hanging out of a tree!
• Focus on just one or two props. You don’t need a lot of fancy things to make it a holiday photo. Sometimes a special knit hat, a string of white lights, and your little one’s sweetest grin is all that is needed, like this shoot, for example.
• Play a musical instrument, video, or even a harmonica, right next to your camera. I got this awesome tip from Suzy, and let me tell you, it works wonders to get your child’s attention!
• Did your little one insist on wearing a neon orange jumper, the one with the tiger stripes? You can always convert your shots to black and white for a clean, timeless look!

Now that you have that perfect family holiday photo, all that is left to do is print, stamp and mail! Easy peasy.

Follow me on Pinterest here, if you haven’t already! Happy holidays!

xo, Melissa