Do you struggle with getting your family to cooperate for just one photo every holiday? Feel like the enemy when you pull out your camera in front of your kids? These 5 holiday photo tips will help you capture a beautiful picture of your family every holiday (all without tears).

1. Ask your kids to help you with a BIG favor. Kids love to know they’re helping, especially little ones. Tell them it’s a BIG secret for daddy and you need their help with a picture. Ask them to sit on the front porch, side-by-side, and say to them “whatever you do, don’t smile. No seriously guys, daddy wants to see a very serious face.” 9 out of 10 times, they’ll crack up laughing. Plus you’ll get a hilarious, but natural photo of your kids.
2. Bring everyone outside for a family sandwich. For group shots, instead of having everyone stand in front of the tree (which is usually in front of windows), ask everyone to throw on a scarf and come out to the front porch. It’ll only take 2 minutes. Do a few test shots on a tripod with your older nieces and nephews before dragging grandma outside when it’s 10 degrees. I like offering a nice warm, yummy reward (fresh out of the oven cookies?) for after the photo. Put your camera on a tripod using a timer and have everyone squish really, really close to stay warm. You may get some silly faces, but that’s just part of real life, right?! And mom, don’t forget to get in the photo! Your kids will thank you for this in 20 years.
3. Photos during present opening. Pictures of kids opening gifts is so much fun, but who remembers to pick up the camera? Instead, many of the newer DSLR cameras have interval timers. Which means you can set your camera to go off every 1 minute, 5 minutes, etc. Try setting your camera up in the corner facing the center of the room (be sure you use a subject to test the focus and use a higher ISO, shutter speed (at least 1/500) and fstop (f11)) and set your camera to go off every few minutes during present opening. You may need to have everyone facing the windows during presents, but it will be so worth it when you can look back at these photos.
4. Remember the details. **This one is my favorite of the 5 holiday photo tips** We put so much time and energy into hosting the perfect holiday but we often forget to document the details. Take 5 minutes before everyone sits down to open presents and another 5 minutes before the meal to photograph the details. Remember the perfectly wrapped presents that took hours to wrap, the hand made decoration that you’ve had on your tree for the past 15 years, the perfectly set table, candles and place settings, Grandma’s pie, and the spiced cider. (yummmm, I’m excited for the holidays just thinking about these!)
5. Have a little fun. Challenging your kids when the camera is out can be very rewarding. Tell them you want to see which of the kids can build the biggest snowman, or who can jump the highest into the snow pile. Kids can be so competitive and these little “challenges” can lead to some really fun holiday photos.

Most of all, remember to remember. Studies show that our brains actually remember the moment better if you don’t have your camera glued to your face. Enjoy your family time. It’s ok to put the camera down once in a while.
We hope these 5 holiday photo tips helped. Please be sure to share your holiday photos (which will be amazing because of these holiday photo tips 😉 ) with us by using the hashtag #2014HappyFamilyHappyHolidays
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Happy Holidays!!