4 Tips on How to Take Annual Family Photos

It’s that time of year again…FAMILY PICTURES! I’m excited…the boys…not so much. Every year, we get with our photographer to schedule family pictures. We use to just schedule them primarily in the spring/summer seasons, but in reality, we were cutting little man out of turning “one year older.” One year, we just couldn’t get the timing right without photographer due to my military drill schedule, and/or….college football schedules (hey, don’t knock my husband’s love for Alabama football). So, we scheduled them in October right after little man’s birthday. That’s when I realized that this was the best time (on the Gulf Coast) to take pictures. The weather was just right, which would mean less gripping with these boys of mine.

1. KNOW YOUR THEME

The first step in family pictures is to pick out a theme. This normally is clothing in our situation, but this could mean something totally different to someone else. Poses, celebrations, holidays can fall into the area. Even location can be bundled up into this category (in our case). Just know how you want your pictures to turn out.

this year we chose to wear red and blue polos

2. FIND A PHOTOGRAPHER

Now this concept is totally up to you. Personal photographers can be very expensive sometimes, but this is also becoming a trend. You can find a photographer for a reasonable price nowadays. Check your local Facebook market. I stumbled onto my current photographer here. I don’t even think I was looking for a photographer at the time. I think we lucked out with her. Her motto is affordable photography. She has a quick turnaround and gives me all rights to the pictures without additional fees (she just asks to post pics on her website…which is kind of understood). So, don’t think you have to spend hundreds of dollars

3. PICK A LOCATION

We usually leave this up to our photographer, but you should always have an idea, so you won’t feel out of place or nervous. We have picked the woods for the last two years, which also helped dictate what our theme was. However, because of where we live, we sometimes use the beach as our backdrop. FYI: Beaches and woods are great to catch candid moments with young children.

4. BE YOURSELF

We have been taking professional pics (outside the studio) since baby boy made his entrance. I can say we are still amateurs and this “taking family pictures” thing. Our photographer noticed that overtime our candid photos made the best outcome. If you have older kids and posing works for you, feel free to pose away, but being yourself in front of the camera will make for better pics and a faster photo session

Tayvian gets a bit dramatic during photo shoots

our photographer caught us in the midst of “gossiping” 

would you believe me if I said I was trying to blow a kiss to my hubby? (looks more like I’m not convinced on what the hubby’s “selling”)

If you want to see more from our family photo shoot, check out our Instagram at LOC’D 2GETHER 

Check out our behind-the-scenes footage of this family shoot here

If you would like to see a full detail explanation of how to survive your annual pics, check out our video here: