Creative Holiday Portrait Ideas

It’s that time of year again…your mailbox is starting to overflow with holiday cards from friends and family; Christmas tree lots are popping up on nearly every street corner, and the dreaded holiday family portraits are rapidly approaching. Except this year doesn’t have to be quite the hair pulling and face making ensemble that it was last year! Here are a few creative ideas to help make your holiday portraits a fun and enjoyable experience for everyone.

Themed portraits are always a lot of fun for both couples and larger families. It gives everyone the opportunity to dress up and be silly in pictures, (which we all know husbands and kids all normally do anyways even when against our wishes.) Mr. & Mrs. Claus photos with several little elves running around making toys is always a good staple photo theme. Dressing up as snowmen and snowflakes can be really cool for kids! If you live in a region that is known for its warmer weather rather than snow, have a beach day! Wear Santa hats, flip flops and shorts and take pictures enjoying pina coladas on the beach…just to make all the relatives that are snowed in for the holidays jealous! You could even make a snowman out of the sand. There is also the ever so popular “Silent Night” picture where all of the kids mouths are taped shut!

For kids that can’t seem to all hold still, let alone all look at the camera at the right moment…take individual pictures that can be pieced together! Have each child hold a letter or word that together will send out season greetings! For three kids, each child could hold one letter from the word “Joy.” For fewer kids or longer sayings each person in the photo can hold an entire word up. Individual photos can be composite together so you don’t have to worry about sending multiple images in each card for people to understand the message. A few more “word” ideas: “Peace, Love, Joy”; “Seasons Greetings”; “Love”; “Joy”; “Santa’s Little Helper’s”.

Pick your favorite holiday song and recreate some of the lyrics in a photo! Get a shot of mommy kissing Santa Claus, or the kids recreating a manger scene! Whatever you decide, just remember to have fun because the experience will make great memories. Have a safe and happy holiday season, and have a creative and entertaining portrait session!