Tis the Season...

For family pictures that is! Family photos are the worst..lets be honest. When telling my husband it was "that" time again he loudly exclaimed:

We just had them done! 

Wrong. It was a year ago, and it was with your family. Now My family is getting them done.

We just barely that THOSE done!

Wrong again. Hudson was 6 months old. He is now 3.5.

But!.......Ugh. I hate family pictures. I am boycotting them for the next 5 years.

For the most part, we are always glad we did them but leading up to (picking out outfits) and the dreaded "Day Of" is terrible. I believe a celebration after family pictures is a must! Treat yo self! 

I have a few methods to my madness that I will share and hope to ease the pain of 

"capturing those sweet moments that perfectly depicts your family". :p

WARNING: PHOTO OVERLOAD

I only have a few rules when finding outfits for pictures. 

1. Find a fit that it flattering, but not revealing. Meaning, if you wear leggings, make sure you have a long shirt/tunic to cover your bum and frontal parts. (did calling it frontal parts make it more awkward? How about lady bits?)

Flowy shirts are ok IF you accentuate your waist. You might look great in that type of shirt in person, but you have to keep in mind that photos are one dimensional. A flowy cardigan without the right accessories can make you appear frumpy and boxy. A good rule of thumb is to take a photo of yourself in your outfit prior to the shoot. 

2. Layer, layer, layer. Trust me. (even in summer shoots you can layer with a denim vest or tank)

3. SPANX are always a good idea.

4. Don't be afraid of patterns, prints, and logos. Long gone are the days where in order to get a good photo you must only wear white shirts and khaki pants. As long as they clothes follow the same color scheme, pretty much anything goes.

5. Pick a color scheme that won't pigeon hole you into one season. You can't help the scenery of the season but you can certainly not dress like a Christmas Tree. You want your photos to be visually appealing year round. Unless you get them taken seasonally. You overachiever you!

6. Picture time is not the time to experiment with your hair. Wear it how you normally do! Also go a little heavier with your makeup so it shows up in your photos. 

7. Normally it is the parents wanting to get family photos done. So when it comes down to picking a photographer, let your parents pick. When you have such a large group of people there is absolutely no way that everyone is going to be pleased as punch. So to eliminate yourself from getting all of the texts telling you that they are "unhappy", the pictures are "terrible", or how could the photographer let you look like that, have the parents pick.

I may or may not be speaking from experience. 

 Another thing to keep in mind is who you will be standing close to. Normally Mom and Dad are standing into each other so I didn't want my floral printed sweater next to a plaid shirt. I knew he needed to be solid. So we threw a Holister shirt over the top of his AE button down. We match, but do not clash. 

 When Kyle and I got married and photos were taken, there are none of just him. I am so so sad we did not get any Groomals. I happen to think my husband is wonderful to look at! So now when we get photos taken I always do individuals of our entire family. It makes for a fun collage on your wall as well. Some of you might have office jobs and what better way to spend your day than looking at your own personal photo of your hubs.?! (right next to the one of your children of course)

If there are certain photos you want, ask your Photog! They aren't mind readers, so unless you are specific, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit.

He hated it. I told him to suck it up and work the camera. 

My über efficiant Dad brought camping chairs to sit in while there was waiting involved. I'm so glad the photographer caught this moment between me and my papa! 

*Photos were done by Flash Photo of Roy, Utah and the location was Snow Basin*

XoXo, 

Sheena