Family Photo Tips for the Holidays

The holidays are a time we spend with our loved ones and family. Why not use this time to take a beautiful photo to cherish for years to come? You don’t need a professional photographer to take an amazing family photo, just follow three basic tips and to get that perfect shot:

Wait Until the Golden Hour to Take your Photo Outside.

The Golden Hour refers to the time of day when the sun is at its lowest point right before sunset. “Golden lighting” refers to softer lighting and offers several benefits, including:

  • Softer looking skin, brighter eyes, and smiles sparkle
  • More dimension to photos
  • No “sun-in-the-eyes” faces

Now that we’ve turned back our clocks for winter, the Golden Hour is roughly between 4:00- 5pm depending on your geographic location.

Posing with a large group? Make sure you create levels with each person to make the photo more interesting.

You don’t want to end up with a straight, boring line! Try using a staircase to break up a large group of adults. Put the children in front of the adults rather than at their sides. You can also incorporate seasonal décor – like a garland on your stairway, or a wreath on your front door – to help shape the photo.

Incorporate Candid & Natural Looking Shots.

Nothing is worse than a stiff photo with no life! Create an amazing photo by allowing individual personalities to shine through with a candid or natural looking photo. A tip to get you started? Try taking a “funny” photo first to loosen the mood. Have everyone jump or make a silly face. Kids and adults alike will have fun with this.

Extra tip: Protect These Precious Memories

As always, we remind you to backup all your priceless photos with one of our amazing Picture Keeper drives. What’s the point of capturing the photos if you can’t keep them safe? Try our mobile device, Picture Keeper Connect, for a fast, simple backup straight from your smartphone.

Enjoy your family and friends this holiday! We hope these three easy tips will help you capture (and keep) your most amazing seasonal shot yet!

Share your tips for holiday photos below!