Family Photos – Outfits and Framing

I don’t know about you and your family, but my husband DREADS family photos. Not just a teeny bit, I mean like he’s nearly going to have a toddler tantrum when I mention the phrase. I have to admit, though, for these last ones, he put on his big boy pants and faked a pretty good attitude (FAR from perfect mind you, but pretty good). AND…he admitted that the results were far worth any inconvenience he had to undergo. Ha!

I finally found a photographer whose photos I LOVE, AND she seemed reasonably priced to boot. Now, when I say reasonable…here’s what I mean. She does amazing work, and deserves to be paid for said amazing work. However, my family is changing DRASTICALLY by the month, and I want up to date pics. So, if I’m gonna splurge for them say, once a year, it needs to be moderately affordable. Robyn is up front, and wants to stay affordable. But again, I can’t stress…it’s an art and they deserve to be paid! Also a huge bonus, she’s super relaxed and rolls with the punches when it comes to kids.

**Funny side note…while on shoot, my son sat in an old tree trunk COVERED with red ants. Eek! Thankfully, we caught it in plenty of time and he recovered well. Robyn was totally relaxed and helpful.**

Her name is Robyn, and her company name is Captured by Robyn Lee. Click here to see her website. Fun eye candy! You can see one of our beautiful family pictures there, along with plenty of other adorable moments  she has captured as a photographer.

So….ANYWAY…

After finding the perfect photographer, I set out to get the dreaded family photo outfits. For other family photos, I hadn’t given the outfits much thought…and I think that was reflected a bit. Not that you have to have the PERFECT attire to get good pictures, but if you feel good about yourself, and look like a cohesive family, you’re chance at getting good results raises significantly.

So…I did a little internet searching. Unfortunately, I didn’t keep the websites for credit, so if you know them, please let me know. Here were some color templates I tagged for inspiration:

Then, I set off for Old Navy. I actually purchased EVERYTHING, except shoes and my daughter’s bow, from there. (we also used jeans we already owned) I questioned the shirt I got for my son, but am thrilled with how everything came together.

After waiting patiently checking online daily until our proofs were ready, I searched through the pictures to design a layout for my living room wall. Here’s what I came up with:I liked the combination of some with mats, and some without. I purchased all the frames at the same time at Michael’s using a 25% coupon DURING the 40% off sale. Woot!

I’d read this “how-to” with the idea of using wax paper to trace your pictures. Then, you hang the wax paper on the wall and you know where your nail holes need to be! Easy, right?

WRONG…it’s probably user error, but this did NOT work for me. I probably had a few things working against me.

#1. It’s such a huge layout.

#2. I only had parchment paper, not wax…

#3. The paper would NOT stay taped together.

Exhibit A:    See it falling down behind the couch? The only  purpose it did help serve was placing that first picture. It made hanging the rest much simpler.

#4. Many of the frames required 2 nail holes. If they’re not perfect, it’s not gonna be level.

Those are the four reasons I believe the wax paper approach was unsuccessful.

But, it did help to lay it out on the ground to get a feel for what it would look like, and whether it would fit properly or not. Here was my “floor layout”: So, all that to say…

When taking family pictures…

RELAX

FIND OUTFITS YOU LIKE AND FEEL COMFORTABLE AND CONFIDENT IN

LASTLY, PURCHASE PHOTOS AND DISPLAY THEM!

I actually did not purchase digital copies this go around. I second guessed myself a number of times, but once I got this photo gallery up on the wall, I never looked back! Digital copies are nice for a few things, but having those professional prints make me smile daily. Even my kids love staring at them!