Creative Ways to Do The Dreaded Family Picture

Taking family photos can be a daunting experience.  We plan the perfect outfits, sit down in a formal setting, put on our best smiles (which sometimes are actually our worst smiles), tilt our heads, raise our heads, move our hands here, sit, stand, kneel…..  all after waiting well past our sitting time.  We are usually left with something that resembles the Cleaver family… on drugs.

Good family photos can be taken!  We scoured the internet to find the most creative (and recreate-able) family photos to share with you. Notice how not one of them were taken in a studio.  Check out the following unique and fun family photos and groupings that may inspire you.

Family Photos

Coloring Outside The Lines

Somewhere along the line family photos adopted a “matching rule”.  This usually entailed Mom & Dad dressed in some sort of neutral color, with the kids in matching sweater vests, and eventually evolved to jeans and a white t-shirts across the board.  See how this family incorporated color – and lots of it! – into their photo for a fun and intriguing picture.

Propping It Up!

Using props can be a fun way to spruce up your family photos!  Get creative and try using a prop that means something personal to your family…  like an old bicycle, gardening tool, bench or…  picture frame.

Wedding Family Photos

One cute idea is for everyone to stand in a great big heart shape, then take the photo from above! The best way to do this with the least amount of confusion is to spray paint the heart onto the grass making it easy for people to know where to stand.

Involve Family Tradition

Creating a family tree of wedding portraits of relatives from both sides is a beautiful way to bring the history of family tradition together and represent your special day!

Family Photo Groupings

A large wall is the perfect place to display your family photos. People love looking at a wall of well placed family photos. There is an art to doing it right and creating the perfect family gallery.

Design by Patricia Davis Brown Designs and to see more of this project click HERE

Another way to tackle a large wall with a family gallery is to use different size frames and shaped frames creating an asymmetrical approach, this can be a great way to add personality to the room, be it casual or formal.

Using matching frames and an accent color really ties these photos together, even though they were taken at many different times and places.

The best tip I can give in doing the yearly family photo is to take the stress out of it and simply make it FUN!

Images Courtesy of Canva.