6 Tips for an amazing Christmas Card Photo

If there is one thing that I look forward to each holiday season it’s the annual Christmas Card. The family…..not so much. To take the pain out of the equation for them, make mama happy and make it a pleasurable experience for everyone, I have put together 6 tips for an amazing Christmas card photo…… just in case that’s your household as well.

6 Tips for an amazing Christmas Card Photo

Have a plan

Start well in advance of the holiday season. Think about what kind of picture you want to send out and when you want to take it. I typically start thinking at the beginning of the year. Do I want to capture a picture during a family trip, is there a special event during the year that I want to take a picture at and use for the card.  Do you want the family cats in the picture…or not.There are many moments throughout the year that would be perfect to capture that memory and use for the Christmas Card…and remember they all don’t have to be perfectly poised to make the most perfect Christmas card.

Coordinate outfits

Along with the plan are the outfits. What will everyone wear?  Having this all figured out well in advance can really make the process run a whole lot smoother. I tend to coordinate our outfits by color and style. You can see my 5 tips for dressing the family here.

Choose a location

Ask yourself, where do you want to capture that special moment or family shot. Think about this in advance instead of waiting till days before the photographer shows up. This year we took the picture on our property. We did this for a couple of reasons. We didn’t have to get in the car and travel somewhere. And having the photo done at home felt more special to us.

Have a dress rehearsal

This may sound silly but it is key if you have the time. Once you figured out your location, assemble the family at the time you will be taking the pictures. You can check out your lighting and positioning. Doing it in advance really makes the session go alot faster on picture day. When my photographer showed up, I knew exactly what we were doing. Every photographer I know likes this as well. Clearly my family was having entirely way to much fun with this!

Have a backup plan

This is particularly important if you are doing outside shots…or have kids. If it rains on picture day, what now. If someone gets sick, what do you do. Have all of this figured out before you schedule something with your photographer. I had an hour session scheduled but because of the smoke from the wild fires that were occurring in Northeast Georgia we reduced our time so the smoke wouldn’t be an issue.

Order on time

Okay, without stating the obvious, this one is pretty important if you want your cards to arrive on time. Something that I have done in the past is gone with a New Years card instead of a Christmas Card since I didn’t get my picture taken in time. This of course was before I followed a plan. Every year since then, all card ordering has been done well in advance and cards sent out timely. Every year I have used Shutterfly, and have never been disappointed with the quality and selection of my cards. You can view there full line of  Christmas Cards here

Here are some cards that I have done in the past from Shutterfly.

see more behind the scenes from this photo session here

I hope my 6 Tips for an amazing Christmas Card Photo will work for you and your family this year as you get ready to take your own Christmas Card Picture.

grateful

for memories

this was a sponsored post with Shutterfly