How to Inspire Beautiful Family Photos Every Time

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Beautiful family photos are a big deal for me.  As a mom who is typically behind the camera, I love having the opportunity once a year to actually be in the pictures with my family.  The actual photo session is often dreaded by many, but today I’m sharing tips for how to inspire beautiful family photos every time.

So how do we survive our annual picture and still have smiles on our faces?

How to Inspire Beautiful Family Photos - The Queen in Between Blog

Pick a date as far in advance as possible.  If you are booking a photographer this is really important as the closer the holidays get the busier they will be. Honestly, in Texas we would have much better luck with spring or early summer photos to ensure ourselves the weather would not be an issue but that just doesn’t work for our schedules.  We are so fortunate to have a photographer who comes from a big family and is use to some of the crazy that comes with shooting this crew.

Location, location, location!  We are typically limited to the general vicinity where we live but there are some amazing backdrops for pictures in our own backyard.  Places that work really well and are often found in most towns, both big and small, include downtown areas, museums, local parks (especially if there are some neat water features or cool bridges), college campuses or even a simple country road can be the best.  Have a vacation planned for the coming year?  One of the best things I ever did was book a photographer the year we traveled to Destin for summer vacation.  It is really not hard to find someone in most towns you visit and as your children get older a family vacation may be one of the only opportunities you have.

Tips for Family Photos

Begin planning for outfits at least a month in advance.  This is always the hardest for our family for some reason.  Choose a general color scheme and begin pulling together pieces to compliment each family member.  Encourage your family to pick items they are comfortable in.  Layers and patterns are your friend!  In early years I was afraid to mix patterns and definitely worried layers would add bulk.  Layers and patterns help the picture to look less one dimensional and everyone ends up looking pulled together.  I typically try to snap a picture of a few of the pieces laid out together and send it to my photographer to give her a better sense of how what we are wearing will work with the location of the photoshoot.
Family Photo Inspiration

Do not be afraid to bribe your family!  Talk the pictures up and reinforce over and over how important they are to you.  I am definitely the queen of guilting my family into this.  They all know this is the only gift I want every year and they all complain just a tad but once we get there they all smile pretty.  Set the expectations as to the types of pictures that will be taken and how much time you will need.  Typically we end by having dinner together which is kind of a reward for us but I’m not saying cash wouldn’t work just as well.  Ha!

Have a little fun!  If one of your family members has a suggestion for a pose, try to make it happen. This year Riley suggested an Abbey Road picture and our photographer, Sarah, was all over making that wish come true!  I honestly had to google it when I got home because I was not on top of the Beatles reference.  How fun is this having them in line oldest to youngest?

Family Photo Inspiration
Keep your cool.  My boys (including Keith) are the first to begin getting irritated if we move our location too many times.  Making sure they are not hungry by bringing a few snacks along is always a good idea. Remaining calm when my boys start picking and complaining is not necessarily my natural reaction but on picture day I seriously use every single ounce of patience I have and respond to everything with smiles and kind words.  Conditions will not always end up perfect but if you stay calm you can still end up with some great pictures.
Family Photo Inspiration
Whether you hire a photographer or snap a family photo yourself, just do it!  Capturing your family over the years as everyone grows and changes is just so special to look back on.  I’ve used a tripod some years and captured our photo with a remote and that was so easy.  Grab a good friend or family member and have your picture taken in front of your tree.
Family Photo Inspiration
I for one end up loving the pictures, of me at least, much better when they are taken by a professional and I’ve been lucky enough to schedule every other year since 2010.   I love looking back at how much the kids have grown and try to make sure we have some similar shots each time.
Family Photo Inspiration
Family Photo Inspiration

What are your tips for inspiring beautiful family photos?

I shared a sneak peek of our family pictures a few weeks back along with my thoughts on using Minted for card design. Today I’m sharing the card I settled on as well as s my tips for a successful family photo shoot!

Minted Christmas Card

I loved the simplicity of this design.  The photo I wanted to use was a little tricky in several layouts but I loved how the green in love helped pull the green from Jordan’s outfit into the picture.
Minted Christmas Card
I love including individual pictures of the kids as well and this ended up being the back of our card. I just love these people so much!!

36 Comments

  2. Most beautiful family EVER!!! Love your outfits, love the poses, love your sweetness..LOVE You!! Precious I tell ya, just precious!!

    Reply

  7. Picture Perfection! Suitable for framing, of course! We still ain't done ours! Steph told me she bought a new sweater for pictures while she was in Memphis and I was so excited until she told me it was a dang cropped sweater. Nope! A'int happening! Ugh!!

    Reply

  12. Beautiful family and gorgeous card. We used Minted this year for ours and I'm beyond excited to get them back !!!

    Reply

  14. Wow, you knocked it out of the park with the pictures this time! I love all of them, especially the one of all of you that you picked for the card. Your kids are all beautiful, and their personalities really shine in these photos! Can't wait to click over to your interview. 🙂

    Reply

  15. Thank you Tanya. I'm super happy with them and cannot wait to get them all back. My photographer is a dear and got me a few to use for my card so I'm still waiting to have all of them. I am really hopeful over the holidays I'm going to order some canvases for my entry hall of all my fave family pictures.

    Reply

  31. Love the Beetles picture 🙂 So stinkin cute. Your family is just so adorable and so happy that you have still been able to get pictures of them even as the grow up and out of the house! I am glad to see that even when they get big you can still do family photos 🙂 Love!

    Reply

  33. Lauren our annual card is one of my favorite Christmas traditions! Some years that rock and some years they are meh but sharing my family with my friends and receiving cards in return is just so fun. Hope you are having a super holiday season!

    Reply

  35. Ya'll….really? I die! All the heart eyes here! Ya'll look like a fabulous, gorgeous family sitcom I would watch on the regular! ox

    Reply

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