It Ain’t Too Late For Your Holiday Photo Card: 5 Tips

You may have not gotten your holiday card out yet but don’t panic it can be better to wait to do when all your family is actually gathered in the same place to celebrate. For many families, distance can complicate or prevent production from happening in time to send it out “on time”. It isn’t a big deal nowadays to send it out after the holidays as it used to be. Plus, everyone will understand why it’s late when they see the whole family. A lot of people might opt out of going to the traditional studio for the family holiday greeting card this year. This may be due to the current economic climate or maybe you are just looking for something different, exciting or unique? Whatever your circumstances are, here are five tips to help you get the best photograph for your holiday greeting cards you’ve ever taken!

1. If you don’t already have a tripod, get one. Use a tripod to get the composition exactly how you want it. It will make life a whole lot easier if you can get a remote control for your camera. This way no one will have to keep going back and forth to reset the camera for every shot. Remotes aren’t very expensive at all and will come in handy for many other projects in the future.
2. Other than your family, location is the most important thing to consider if you want to have a card that stands out this year. This will be the setting and the background of your image. Outside during the winter and fall season is a good time to get great side lighting, especially right before sunset when the sun isn’t very bright. And if you are somewhere with limited to no sun, snow also makes a great backdrop.
3. Do a large family photo! Invite aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas, pets and anyone else that is considered part of the family. “The more the merrier” as the saying goes. The photo becomes more meaningful and memorable this way.
4. Matching clothing might be seen as a cliché, but it can also be really funny if you don’t mind stepping out of your comfort zone. Try and think of something creative and unique to your family that will make your photo different. It can be as simple as everyone exchanging clothing styles with another family member and literally seeing things from their shoes.
5. One of the best decisions you could probably make is to hire a freelance photographer. They have the equipment, lighting and knowledge to make your photo even better than you might be able to achieve. Depending on how much you can spend there are a lot of ways to find one. If you have a local state university or even a community college you can usually find a student that would love to do this for you; this is by far the cheapest way to go so be cautious and ask to see some of their work before committing to anything. By paying a freelance photographer you are supporting an individual and their passion instead of a large corporation in a mall studio or department store studio.

Whatever you decide to do this year for the holidays, remember this is a time to reconnect. Don’t take it too seriously and have some fun with your family by getting them involved; they might surprise you with their imagination!