Sick of sending out holiday cards where your husband’s eyes are closed, your son is pinching your daughter so she’s screaming her head off and the dog is humping your leg?
Take the perfect holiday photo this year by forgetting the staged portrait and thinking outside the box.
Coordinate outfits, but don’t match. No identical Santa sweatshirts this year. Tying everyone together with a common theme is a good idea, but pick one component and leave it at that. Have everyone wear a little bit of red, or have every one wear a Santa hat, and their own outfit. Whatever it is, make sure it comes through in the picture, but doesn’t over power it.
Go natural. Posed photos feel so…posed. No one looks good standing in a row and faking a smile. Set the stage for a good picture and start snapping. Have the kids start a tickle fight with dad, get everyone in the kitchen to bake cookies or try and put a reindeer costume on Fido and take pictures as hilarity ensues. Catching these candid moments makes the picture fun. When people see genuine joy, they feel it themselves.
Use the season to your advantage. To create a feeling of holiday cheer, use your surroundings. Take the family out to do some snow angles or build a snow man, or rake up some leaves in your yard and start a leaf throwing war. Catch everyone trimming the tree, or trying to hang Christmas lights on the outside of the house. Whatever you do, make it feel like you are inviting someone into the scene.
Go digital. Digital camera’s are so advanced and so user friendly now a days that you don’t have to be Annie Leibovitz to take a great picture. Use the black and white feature for a more creative feel, or sepia for more nostalgia. You can eliminate red eye with the click of a button or crop and focus a picture to fix any off center blunders.
Get creative this year. Take your family out and have great time taking pictures. You’ll pick that one perfect photo to send out to your friends and family, but you will also have a whole photo album to enjoy for years to come.
(And that’s our editor, Germain Lussier, and his family from last Thanksgiving above)
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