How to Take Perfect Holiday Pictures

Every parent strives for that perfect holiday picture of their children or family. Unfortunately, between the fidgeting, silliness and boredom this can be a daunting task. Here are some great ways you can take that perfect holiday picture.

• Choose an area that is light enough to take a picture without a flash. Flash photography can cause red eyes and glare. If you can’t take a picture outdoors, place plenty of lights around so you don’t have to use the flash.

• Use a digital camera so you can preview the pictures before deciding if the photo session is done. You can edit digital photos as well, giving you more options for a perfect holiday snapshot.

• Take a picture before you put your kids in the shot. Look carefully for anything cluttered or standing out. Avoid taking pictures near wall candle holders, low hanging lights and large wall artwork.

• You don’t have to dress your children up if you don’t want to. This is your picture, after all! Consider letting the kids dress up in funny clothes or dress them all in blue jeans and matching colored tops.

• Tell your children they can be silly in every third picture. You will find they concentrate on behaving every two pictures if they know a silly one is soon to follow. And those funny pictures? They will probably bring back more happy memories for you than the serious ones!

• Do you have a dog? How sweet would it be to include your family pet!

• Take the picture at the level of your children. Or be creative by trying other points of view. Stand on a chair and have them look up in to the camera. Or have them turn to the side while you take the picture at an angle.

• If your children are getting antsy during the photo shoot, begin asking them to repeat silly words for each shot. Grinch, cooties and moldy cheese will bring a smile every time.

• Bribery will get you everywhere in my house. “If you work hard to give me a good picture we will go for ice cream today.”

• After you have a few good picture choices, play with them on the computer. Try a sepia tone or change the picture to black and white. Sometimes the most beautiful pictures are black and white, showing off the striking features of those in the shot.