Take away the commercial chaos, and the holidays for me are about connection. One of the things I most look forward to about the season is holiday cards. Some might consider it an outdated tradition (or hassle!), but when so much interaction is online these days, I get all giddy when I open the mailbox and have personal notes or cards. Social media may make us feel connected in the moment, but there's something special about a delivery from the postman.
The photos of friends and loved ones is by far the best part of the whole Christmas card experience. Yup, I have friends who post snaps of their kids nearly every day. We all do. But there is magic that goes into the making of the holiday card photos!
My first family holiday card experience was a total parent fail! But we've come a long way since that first photo shoot with Sweet P. When she was about three months old, Grammie and I took the sweet doll baby to a photo studio for her picture. Little did I know, her very fancy red and green plaid dress had a very scratchy crinoline petticoat underneath. She cried the whole time, and the photographer couldn't get a single picture. What a miserable experience for everyone-- and the guilt I felt for dressing her up in that silly dress was awful!
After the failed attempt at getting pictures taken in the studio, we ended up getting a few okay snaps from a staged at home shoot. But by the time we finally had our pictures, it was too late to order any cards printed and send them in time for Christmas.
Fortunately, I learned from the first year, and last year was a lot easier! We planned in advance and set up time with our uber talented team of photographers that we worked with for Sweet P's newborn photos and several other sessions. Capital Region friends-- Ashley Brown and her assistant, Kristen, specialize in photographing children and their families. These ladies are true pros, and you will TREASURE your photos.
Working with Ashley and Kristen, I've learned a few tips to help make your Christmas photo session easier...
Start with neutrals - As someone that loves color and pattern, I'm conscious of choosing clothing that's too bold or bright. Select grays, beige, white, black and save the pops of color for accessories. Also consider choosing clothing in the same tones so outfits compliment one another.
Kids are the stars of the show, so give them all of the attention by concentrating color and patterns in their outfits. But be careful of crazy patterns, mixing patterns or horizontal stripes or textures to avoid the photo looking busy or distracting.
Leopard print is a neutral!
And if you want to go for seasonal colors, you can find inspiration for subtle complimentary colors on Pinterest.
Prepare, prepare, prepare- Try outfits on ahead of time (learn from my mistake!) and bring a backup outfits especially if you're going off site or to the studio for photos with a little. Spit up and blow outs happen.
Bring accessories and props- In addition to the required toddler snacks (we're not above bribing Sweet P with M & Ms), take along favorite blankets, loveys, hats and mittens, or a special toy for the photographer to incorporate into the pics.
Have fun! Remember life happens, but it doesn't have to be stressful and overwhelming. The day that we had our most recent family photo shoot, we woke up to a plumbing emergency (i.e. no water...) After the Sailor fortunately "fixed" the problem, we were running very late. Pip wouldn't nap beforehand, and she was going through a Dada-only phase (Heartbreaking... Thank goodness it only lasted for a short time!)
Despite feeling defeated and blinking back tears that day, I did my best to make P laugh and relax into her normal behavior- acting happy and being silly! I bounced her in the air, played peek-a-boo behind a tree, and chased after a butterfly with P all while forgetting that there was someone watching and snapping away. Trust that your photographer will freeze those moments of contentment and joy for you to remember.
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