Last Minute Family Picture Ideas for Your Holiday Card
Say What?! It’s the month of November, and you haven’t done your family pictures yet?? Well, don’t fret! Either have I! Don’t get discourage and throw the towel in quite yet. There’s still a chance to snap the dreaded family picture and get your cards out for Holiday delivery. Last minute family pictures seem to be the yearly theme in our home lately. Honestly I don’t recommend it, and for me personally my goal is always to get them done in September or October. BUT it seems to never happen when I want it to happen. However, I do get a family photo card out during the holidays. No bragging here. Some years are better than others. So here are my tips for last minute family picture ideas. If you are looking for family picture clothing ideas, check out this helpful post
- Ask a friend to take your family picture–That’s what I did with the two pictures above. I had a dear friend meet me at the park and take our family pictures. No strings attached. If you don’t have a large camera, than use your phone’s camera. Technology has advanced so much that the camera on phones can really produce a gorgeous picture. Also, there are so many photo editing apps and filters, that you can edit your own pictures in just a few seconds.
2. Use a Casual Family Picture From Earlier in the Year–One year we randomly took these pictures at the beach during a summer trip. I actually forgot we took them. During that month of November, while I was dreading family pictures, I remembered we had a taken these pictures. They are not professionally done. We just snapped them during sunset. This saved me the biggest headache! Take the time to go through your camera roll on your phone. You may have one that will do the trick!
3. Use a tripod— Yup. Those two pictures above, where taken with a tripod. I pulled out my tripod, placed it on our lawn and put my big camera on it. Then used the self-timer. They aren’t the best, BUT I’d say they came out pretty darn good. We took these one Sunday afternoon when my kids were looking nice. Saved some money and a random day of headaches!
4. Search for Mini-Session Photoshoots–Many local photographers may offer mini-sessions photoshoots. These are usually budget-friendly, last about 30 minutes and on a specific day. You may only get about 5-10 pictures, but really you only need that ONE good photo for the card. Also, you may need to drive and rearrange your schedule to fit with the photographers schedule. These two pictures above where taken with a local photographer when we lived in Georgia and we set up her studio for mini sessions. We had to drive an hour to take these pictures but they were worth the time and money saving. A good place to search for local photographers is on the search bar in Facebook and through hashtags in Instagram. Search by your area for example, I would search “Connecticut family photographer” or “Fairfield County photographer”. Or in Instagram, I would search #ctfamilyphotographer or #connecticutphotographer. You may need to reach out to the photographer and see if they are offering mini-sessions.
