How is it December 14th?! I'm starting to feel the pressing panic of a to-do list longer than I can manage. Of course it is all things I really enjoy doing but it is the nature of this season to be bustling around trying to get things done. This weekend it occurred to me that I had not even started our Christmas card. If I want to get it out in time for the holiday, it needed to be ordered asap. As I sorted through my photo files, I chuckled over the memory of last year's card.
Last year, we were inspired by the original "Grinch" Christmas special and came up with the "brilliant" idea of dressing the peanut up as Cindy Lou Who for our card.
It took several trips around town before I found an appropriately large red ornament to mimic Cindy Lou's classic pose. I dressed the peanut up in a pair of pajamas we had on hand that just happened to match the color scheme needed. All this prep and effort, it had to go well, right?! Ugh.
This was my first attempt:
Oh how many rules I broke that morning:
1. I was in a rush. The card HAD to get out. I am positive the peanut picked up on my stress.
2. I was strict about where she sat because of the lighting. I know I've mentioned bad winter lighting before, but that morning was especially rough. If I had planned better, I could have kept an eye on the weather and done this on a sunny day which would have improved my chances of a good shot significantly.
3. I attempted to get a 1.5 year old to pose in a specific way. You should be laughing by now at the very thought.
4. I remember we were both hungry. I broke the golden "eat snacks first" rule.
5. In a final fit of brilliance, I attempted this shot just before her naptime thinking that I could edit the photo and card while she slept.
When I saw that gorgeous expression, I threw my hands up in a fit of frustration and put the poor girl down for her nap. After some deep breathing and relaxation techniques, we tried it all again the next day when I was much calmer and way more prepared. And voila', a classic Christmas card was born:
I learned my lesson last year. This year I took the easy route and just chose a photo I already had taken on the day we put up our tree--no special photo shoots required and especially no props needed. It is casual but festive and I love the peanut's expression. Good enough for this year. I'll share it once the real deal is in the hands of our Christmas list recipients, too many of whom read this blog!
Hope your Christmas cards are on track and causing you the least amount of stress this year!
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P.S. Sometimes the hardest part of Christmas photos is finding a template where your photo looks great. I love these user-friendly designs from Tiny Prints this year.
The sparkly overlays and die cuts will make your photo look even more professional!
It can be very helpful to peruse the designs and decide whether you want to go with a horizontal or vertical shot and go into your session with that in mind.
If you'd like more tips on shooting your own holiday photo, be sure to check out my "How NOT to photograph your Christmas card photo" series!! Learn from my annual mistakes!
How NOT to Photograph your Christmas card:
Along with my Capture your Christmas post here.
I haven't decided which card I'll go with but I'm debating between this style and this one in the red pattern. What do you think?
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Zina Harrington
Oh, that little pout is just heart breaking. I am glad you keep this photo on file. Too many parents only have happy pics of their kids. Obviously the disaster photo is already a cherished memory of how we as parents learn from our silly mistakes. Love it.
carrie
I'm afraid that I'm about to recreate your Xmas photo shoot with Dexter. One...I'm way late! I've been wanting to make him antlers for the photo, but waited and waited until, um...yesterday! Two...the light was bad yesterday, but then I'm at work all week, making the next chance for possibly good light next weekend, which is TOO late. Three...I need to do it when he's tired (so that the pups will sit still), but during the work week, that only happens around 7pm, making any light impossible. So now I'm stuck. I'm going to have to take my chances with him in front of the Xmas tree and a flash. Boo. Next year, I'll know better (but will I execute it any better, probably not).
Annette
Even the before snack and nap photo is adoreable. Great job on the last one. So cute!
Kim B.
I had to get a picture of my son, 3, and my daughter, 9 months, together for some grandparent Christmas presents. All the pleading in the world couldn't convince my 3 year old to put his arm around his sister, look at the camera, and smile at the same time! I was SO FRUSTRATED by the end of it!
Jacqueline
Oh, don't we all have those card moments! We were in Hawaii and I had brought my good camera and a tripod and we were all coordinating and then waited until the last day! Looked great in the camera (at sunset) and when we got back to the room and looked at it, they were grainy and awful and I was sick! The vaca was over! Finally at home had the idea to turn it to sepia - wash out that ocean and sunset - but it worked.
Later in a photo class, we found out my teenage son had messed with the camera and had upped the ISO to 3200! Super grain.
Laura
I take Christmas pics of my niece every year. The first year, she was 11 months old. It took forEVER!! My sister sent out the pouty, exhausted pic along with the perfectly posed pic. It was hilarious!