5 Tips for Taking Holiday Card Photos of Your Children

Thank you to Chooze Shoes for providing the Spark high top sneakers to add some edgy glam to my daughter's wardrobe. All opinions are my own.

I've been taking our own holiday card photos for as long as I can remember.  There was one year that we had photos of the whole family taken professionally, but my husband and I have always been the amateur photographers behind every holiday card photo of just our children.  I usually take individual portraits of each child and then some with all three together.  This usually works out great and I can always find a card layout with four spots for photos to complement the pictures we've chosen.

Since I've been taking photos of our three children for nearly a decade, I have learned some tips and tricks along the way.  Yes, taking photos of multiple children at once can closely resemble a game a whack-a-mole, but it can be done!


5 tips for taking holiday card photos of your children . . .

1.  Become familiar with your camera's settings.  You can take beautiful photos with a D-SLR or with your phone's camera.  All cameras having different settings to accommodate for low light and other conditions.  Experiment with them so you have an idea of which settings to use when it comes time to take portraits of your children.  It's likely your children will get antsy if they have to wait for you to play with your camera settings during a photo shoot.

2.  Dress your children comfortably.  Whatever you choose to dress your children in, make sure that they are comfortable.  Binding clothes, itchy tags, uncomfortable shoes, etc . . . all make the task of capturing a photo of a relaxed and happy child even more difficult.  I always opt for casual outfits.  The boys generally wear polo shirts or henleys.  My daughter's clothes can vary from a casual dress to a blazer paired with jeans to the comfy New England Patriots top she wore this year.  Regardless of what they wear, I try to color coordinate all three children's outfits.  Having all three wear jeans on the bottom is an easy way to do that.

To guarantee a smile on my daughter's face for the photos, I always give my daughter something special to wear, such as a hat or a pretty necklace.  This year, she was all smiles wearing her Spark high top sneakers from Chooze Shoes.  She owns a few pairs of mismatched shoes from this brand and loves them all.  Every pair she's owned has been super-comfortable and fun to wear!

3.  Choose a simple background.  Having to drive 10 miles to take photos does not sound like too much fun for kids.  You really don't need a fancy background.  We've taken beautiful photos of our children sitting on the front steps or huddled together in front of an evergreen tree.  I do recommend taking your photos outdoors for the best light, but having your children sitting on your stairs, on your sofa, or in front of your fireplace together will also work.  If you end up not loving the background in your photos, you can always blur the background with a photo editing program.  There are many free programs online.

4.  Get your children talking.  When taking individual portraits, getting your children talking will help them loosen up.  It also gets you some beautiful, natural smiles when they are telling you about something funny that happened in school last week (much better than the cheesy looking say-cheese smiles).  The tween (pictured below) is a tough nut to crack because he is starting to act like he's too cool for holiday photos.  Sometimes talking works with him, sometimes all I get is a mumble and a shrug, but all you can do is try . . .

5.  Promise your children a silly shoot afterwards.  This has worked amazingly well for us.  It is so difficult to get all three children to be smiling, not blinking, and looking at the camera at the same time.  Promising them a silly shoot (when you take photos of them dancing around, doing silly poses, and making goofy faces) in exchange for them holding it together long enough to get a good group photo really gets them to make an effort to give you that winning shot.

What tips do you have for taking great portraits of your children?  Share your tips with us on Facebook!

Silly Monkey Stories: Post-Photo Shoot Sillies (3rd Installment)

Recently, I shared the portraits we took of the children for our 2013 Holiday photo cards.  Like always, our 3 children looked like sweet little angels in those photos.  However, if you've been reading this blog for awhile, then you'll know that the secret to getting those poised photos is the promise of a silly shoot after we've finished up with the serious business.  In case you've missed them, feel free to take a look at the first and second groups of Post-Photo Shoot Sillies photos.

I hope you enjoy these photos.  I know I can't help but smile when I look at them.  Can you tell that the first photo was when they were starting to lose their composure?  That was my first clue that I needed to wrap things up.

Click here to read all our Silly Monkey Stories!

Shop for Everything from Holiday Dresses to Boys' Polo Shirts at Sophia's Style for Your Holiday Portraits

Thank you to Sophia's Style for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon and for providing a gift code for our contest prize.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Recently, I had mentioned that it was almost time for us to take our Holiday portraits of the children.  I usually do this early so that I can order my Holiday photo cards and receive them in plenty of time to correct any potential errors before they need to get mailed out.  We opted to take the photos outdoors for the first time and it worked out well overall, although I struggled a little with the lighting.

Some families opt to dress their girls in beautiful Christmas dresses and their boys in handsome special occasion suits, but we usually go more casual.  Since we never attend any formal parties during the Holidays, it does not make sense for us to buy formal attire just for the photos.  In fact, we usually only photograph our children from the waist up, so I generally dress them in color coordinated tops paired with denim.  Last year, all 3 children were dressed in white and heather grey.  This year, I decided to go with a little more contrast.

Since Sophia's Style sells school uniforms to match your school's colors, I found boys' polo shirts in a wide array of colors in both long and short-sleeves.  Once I decided on my daughter's outfit for the portrait, I was able to order coordinating polo shirts for the boys.  Since these pique polos by Classroom Uniforms are made to last and their look is so versatile, I know our boys will be wearing these polos again and again.

Choosing what our daughter would wear for the portrait was not quite as easy for two reasons . . . I wanted to do something different than we've done in past years and the selection of girl's tops at Sophia's Style is extremely extensive.  After much time spent look for just the right thing, I came across 3 styles of RMLA black blazers over graphic tees.  Each style featured a different graphic tee and a different colored rolled up satin cuff.  The turquoise was my daughter's choice because it happens to be one of her favorite colors at the moment.  The top turned out to be very cute!  The graphic tee is attached to the knit blazer, which has a working single button on the front.

So how do you like to dress your children for your family's Holiday portraits?

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Inspiration plus an Amazing Promotion from JCPenney Portrait Studio

With Mother's Day and Father's Day coming up, you may be considering a new framed family portrait as the perfect gift, especially if you have not had one done in awhile.  After all, our children grow and change so quickly.  To me, photos are the best way to capture their childhoods.  If you're like me, then you have had some great and some not-so-great experiences with young children and professional portrait sittings.  Let me share what I have come to learn about taking family portraits . . .

The main thing I have come to realize about taking portrait photos is that formal is not always better.  Your children can sit still and smile for the camera against a blue background during their school portraits, but a studio experience should be creative and fun.  Even when I take portraits of the children at home, the best photos are often the ones in which they are allowed to let loose.  Checkout these portrait ideas I have pinned on Pinterest.  There is such an imaginative use of composition, props, and angles.  Which photo concept is your favorite?

If you would like to have a portrait done before Mother's Day or Father's Day, you can snag an amazing deal during the month of April at your local JCPenney Portrait Studio.  Through April 30th, 2012 you can receive 6 Traditional Portrait Sheets for $20 plus one Free Sitting Fee (a $9 sitting fee applies to each person after the first).  You are allowed to mix and match photo sizes and you do not have to limit yourself to just one image.  You can even schedule a session online.

To find the closest JCPenny Portrait Studio to you, simply enter your zip code on JCPPortraits.com.  For even more portrait inspirations, visit the JCPPortrait Gallery and Pinterest page.


I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of jcpenney Portrait Studio. I was asked to create a Pinterest Board and pin at least five (5) pins. I give jcpenney the right to repin any or all images/original content from this board. I received a promotional item as a thanks for my participation.

My Photos: It's 2012 . . . a New Year!

One thing that parents always notice is that their children change and grow up so fast.  I have to say that I was so crazy busy in 2011 that I did not have time to observe, enjoy, and celebrate all the small changes in my children.  It is my resolution to not make that mistake in 2012.  That is my main goal for the new year, along with trying to have a date (out or at-home) with my husband at least once a month and to learn the art of creating clipart.


To put things into perspective, I have these two photos to share with you today . . .

(Photo taken at the end of 2010)

(Photo taken at the end of 2011)

I find it amazing how much our children have changed over the course of one year.  What comes to mind for you when you reflect back on the year 2011?

Click here to view all my past favorite photos.

Holiday 2011: Taking Holiday Portraits at Home

With the exception of one year, our family has always taken our holiday photo card portraits at home.  In fact, I am already thinking about this because we usually do this at the end of October so that we have our cards back in plenty of time to mail out after Thanksgiving.  When it was just our oldest son, we would simply put the tree up early, have him stand in front of it in a cute hat or holding a holiday plush toy and the results were always adorable.  When our twins were added into the mix, the whole portrait-taking experience began to be more stressful for me.  Suddenly, I was worried about matching outfits, poses, a suitable background, and don't get me started on getting all 3 children to smile and look at the camera simultaneously.

Last year, after 6 years of holiday portraits, I finally perfected my portrait-taking technique.  I took photos of each child individually first.  This helped them to warm up to the camera before the group shot.  Then when it came time for the group photo, I skipped trying to have a fancy backdrop and formal poses.  Instead, I asked our 3 children to huddle together with their arms around each other's shoulders on the sofa.  With the frame filled with the 3 children from the waste up, I did not have to worry about the background.  I also only had to coordinate their tops rather than whole outfits.  By allowing the children to be their silly selves, I ended up with some great photos!

Last year's holiday card layout had a place for the group shot and 3 smaller individual portraits.  This year, I am leaning towards the Little Berry Bunches holiday card in Rich Red by Tiny Prints.  I like this one because, once again there is a spot for a group photo and 3 individual photos, but there is an extra spot for a photo of my husband and myself.  We have only ever made an appearance on our Christmas photo cards once.  I think it's time we did again.  Now, I just have to break the news to my husband . . .


Tiny Prints provided holiday photo cards to my family as a thank you for taking the time to participate in this campaign.

It's Time For Holiday Portraits & Choosing Our Christmas Cards!

Ever since our oldest was born, we have been sending either Christmas cards with a photo tucked inside or holiday photo cards to our friends and family. After six years, we think we have perfected this undertaking. I have found that it is easiest to take a portrait of just our three children myself at home and to have my favorite photo printed professionally on personalized cards. I always have a holiday greeting from our family printed on our cards, so all I need to do is address and stamp the envelopes. I even try to have the envelopes preprinted with our return address when possible.

A great photo is one of the key factors to having the perfect holiday cards. This year, I let our 3-1/2 year old daughter choose her own outfit to wear for the portrait. I am so relieved that she chose an adorable top and a charming headband to wear in her hair. The two boys will be wearing matching polos. I am so excited to see how our portraits will turn out. You never know what you will get from my three. Will I end up using a traditional portrait or choosing a less formal candid shot instead?

The other key factor is to choose a holiday card that compliments your photo and your personality. I like the Merry Merry Swirl Christmas card above because of the asymmetrical design. I also love that it is square, which makes it stand out from the traditional 5x7 or elongated rectangular cards. Also, red is my favorite color!

I have looked at quite a few card designs with a 3-photo layout. I like the idea of having a spot to highlight each child, but I do not think I could ever leave out a photo of all three of our children together. It is the togetherness that makes a sibling holiday card great. I think the above Sparkling Lime Snowflakes Christmas photo card is a wonderful compromise. It would allow me to show the children together and then still show off each individual child's personality. I have been seeing a lot of lime and red the past few years during Christmas and the idea of it is growing on me.

The above Ribbon Wishes Christmas card is simple and I like how the layout does not take the focus away from the photo. The sheer ribbon makes this card stand out apart from the usual cards with a banner added into the design. I think this particular card would work with almost any landscape photo I end up with.

Of course, I will not know which of these card designs I will go with until I hold a mini photo shoot and decide on the best group photo. Hopefully, I will get this done within the next few days. I am so excited that Christmas is only 8 weeks away!

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This post is part of a series sponsored by Shutterfly. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do. I received a holiday photo card package as a thank you for participating in this series.