Nope, it’s not too early to be thinking about this, and one of the first things you can start to plan for is your holiday card photos.
I’ve spoken to so many parents who have told me they didn’t end up doing a card because they left it too late and couldn’t find a good photo.
5×7 postcard (front and back shown)
So to help you, here are my top three secrets for successful holiday card photos.
1. Start early
In fact, if you’ve been planning on having professional photos taken for your holiday card, it’s getting kind of late for that already. If you’ll be taking photos yourself, now is about the right time to start thinking about it. And of course, simply thinking about it isn’t enough–you have to do something!
Put a date in your calendar for when you’re going to do your mini holiday card photo session with your kids, and plan out several dates for retakes as well so the pressure is off and you have plenty of time.
2. Lower expectations
Personally I stay away from elaborate holiday set-ups and outfits, and I use my favorite recent photo for the cover, and include photos from throughout the year on the inside.
This way there is no one photo session where you’re trying to capture something very specific, which is also likely to be more posed and less emotionally meaningful too.
A collage is a good approach because then the pressure is off from any one photo having to carry the day (or feature all your children at once!)
3. Make it a good experience for everyone
As I’ve talked about before, kids don’t like to be forced to pose too much. If you do go for a very holiday-ish theme for your photos, make sure it’s something your kids will really get into and enjoy. Or go for something less posed and more natural that you will have more opportunity to capture.
Hone your photography skills in time for great holiday card photos with my 1/2 hour lesson. This free lesson gives you an introduction to Photosanity and helps you get ready to capture the moment–and share the love–right now!
