day 4 | holiday photo

We’ve never done a newsletter, but we’ve always done a photo.

Some years it’s been a pet photo, other years J & myself on vacation someplace fun, in recent years the kiddos have taken over the duty of being the annual photo that gets tucked into our Christmas cards. I’ve done the photo card, but mostly I do a traditional card + tuck photo into that. Reason? Not really. You can get amazing photo cards. I was tempted by some at www.persnicketyprints.com except I’ve already got plenty of holiday cards here and needing to be used.

So – if you don’t already have a photo to use (and you want one) here’s my advice:

• Good natural light is a must
• simple background
• take loads of photos. Just keep snapping away
• try a few angles/poses
• if working with kids (or pets) work QUICK. Be set up first, test out your spot before you call them in! 
• consider taking separate photos of each individual, then make a collage of sorts if you can’t get a group shot

Here’s some from holiday photo session (wearing holiday 2011 dresses) 2011:

I often print and use some of the goofy shots in a scrapbook layout about the holiday photo, that year in general, etc. The one I use in the card isn’t always my favorite either. One of the things I *LOVE* about doing this each year is seeing how the girls grow and change, and what their idea of smiling is. Becca is in a toothy phase… and Elizabeth – oh I love seeing those adult teeth coming in!!!

While I love the idea of a photo with our Christmas tree in the background, using it for our card means waiting until after Thanksgiving weekend to take the photo, it’s almost NEVER good natural light in front of the tree, and the images if including enough of the tree also mean less of the girls being featured. Mostly though, I don’t like the delay. I’d rather have a nice photo featuring the girls in their holiday dresses taken, ordered, in my cards ready to go before things get too crazy and I feel pressure to do it vs enjoy the experience.