We just took our Christmas card photo this weekend, which turned out exactly as I pictured. I will share the final product in November; I just like to get this done and squared away before I get too busy! This is an item I can do ahead, and it takes one more off my plate during my busy work season and social season!
This is our 5th Christmas card, so I've had some practice, but I've also been a hobbyist photographer for 15ish years, so I have a few tips I have learned and thought I would share with you all in case you are prepping to take your own photos.
I love taking Christmas card photos and sending out cards each year. It's nostalgic and is a nice tradition to uphold when everything else in this world is digital. I also love to have the photos and the cards to look back on. Each photo and card defines the year, and one day, we will have 10, 20, 30, etc., to look back on. I keep the cards in this Christmas memories book (it makes such a nice gift).
Even if you don't send out cards, take the family photo. I love looking back on the family photos we took over the years. They are so special.
Outfits
Pick a color palette, and don't deviate. As you can see above, I did warm browns and creams and used red as a small pop. I often use a pop of red because I think it ties in well with most Christmas/Holiday card designs. Avoid loud prints unless you have a very plain background. Lilly Pulitzer on the beach works because the Lilly prints pop against the muted tones of the beach, but I think something like a simple white and khaki moment looks more cohesive and sophisticated, especially if you have many people in one photo.
I shared all of our past Christmas cards at the bottom of this post in case you want to check them out, but you'll notice our outfits are mostly muted and neutral, and the colors stay within the same palette.
The top and skirt above are what I ended up wearing in our card for this year. I like creams on myself, and they photograph well, but really, any color you want can work. I like to make inspiration boards like this because it helps me to see if things are cohesive. It sometimes needs tweaking in 'real life,' but overall, this really helps!
Another thing you want to keep in mind is your level of dress. If your husband is wearing jeans, then a ballgown doesn't feel cohesive enough to pair with that. You also want to keep the weather in mind. If it is October and 80 degrees outside, but you are dressing like it's December and 40 degrees, just make sure everyone is on the same page. Someone wearing a tank top and shorts and someone in a chunky sweater and corduroys just doesn't make sense.
Makeup is a personal thing, but I tend to overdo it for an 'important' photo. In this case, overdoing is actually a good thing, and you, as the viewer, would not know I was doing that. In photos, in general, makeup can get washed out, but especially in a group photo. I often put SO much blush on my cheeks because it's something that doesn't show up as well in photos. So, while it may look and feel like more makeup than you are used to, it won't look that way in the actual photo! I also define my eyes more than I would day-to-day to make them pop more.
Setting
You don't have to put too much emphasis on the setting because the background will most likely be at least somewhat blurred. Because of that, it's harder to tell exactly where you are; instead, focus on the color and texture of your background. If you wear simple, plain outfits, you can have some texture in your background. For example, if you are wearing a cream dress, you could be in front of a bright red door or a flower field. On the other hand, if you dress your family in holiday tartans because that skews busy, you want the background to be a little more non-descript so the tartan can pop and not get lost. I'd say shoot tartan in front of maybe an ivy-covered brick wall or a building with marble columns (our 2020 photo was shot in front of huge columns and makes for a great plain backdrop for photography but still allows you to get great depth of field and texture).
Lighting
Good lighting can make a bad photographer seem good. When I can, I prefer to take photos an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset, a.k .a. golden hour. This varies depending on where you take the photos because if you are in a city, you may have issues with buildings blocking the light, but if you are in the right spot and time the lighting right, everything will look great. If I don't shoot during golden hour, a slightly overcast day is my preference to filter the light or a shaded area if it's a really bright day. Our 2022 card didn't have the best lighting. It was during the golden hour, but we were on a dock, and I wanted the lake in the background, but the light would have been SO much better if we photographed the other way (which was of the boat in the slip). A dock has limited space, so I just made it work- you kind of have to prioritize your wants in that kind of situation- the lake background was more important to me than the better lighting in that case.
Setting Up The Shot
This is the hardest part, but I suggest testing different backgrounds/lighting/etc. I suggest a sitting and standing pose to see what you like best so when you go to edit, you have lots of variations to choose from. Henry is small, so he is the hardest variable. He can get lost in the photo, so my husband holds him, or we crouch down to his level. We did something different this year that worked out well, so stay tuned! But if you have small children, getting everyone in the shot can be tough! So maybe pick up the littlest one or have them stand on a ledge or sit on a bench together.
I like having a little depth of field so that the background is somewhat blurred, but that's more of a personal preference.
I always shoot on manual and raw. I export the image with a higher PPI than I would for digital use, so don't forget to switch that when you go to export- I forgot in 2020, and the photo was not as sharp (when printed) as I would have liked.
Lastly, have FUN! You are spending time together as a family- maybe plan to go out for a fun meal or something like that afterward! We took our photos in Oakland, and my mom and dad were with us because my dad took the photos and mom helped to art direct (read: fix my hair). We had Henry and Buddy with us, so afterward, my dad and husband picked up food, and we had a little picnic in Schenley Plaza! We had Chikn. I hadn't had it in a while, but it was as delicious as I remembered!
2019
2020
2021
2022
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