Family Photo Days

It’s that time of year again where families are out trying to capture the best moments in a photo to use on their holiday cards.  My family always uses the pumpkin patch as our photography playground.  The kids love climbing around on the hay stacks and playing with pumpkins so usually I can capture some great candid moments, however it’s still a challenge to get all three kids to stop, stay still and smile at the same time.

This year it was windy and sunny which caused lots of squinting and blown hair.  Also a test on my patience to try and capture just a few holiday card worthy photos.

Family photo outtakes {Yo, Gabby, over here. After convincing her to take the sucker out of her mouth}

Finally Settled{the best we could captured together}

I took a lot of photos of the kids playing and enjoying quality family time together.  Some of the best shots were while they weren’t looking.  That’s when I was able to capture their true smiles and emotions.  We spent only two hours at the pumpkin patch but it felt like all day.  Trying to get kids to stop and smile is exhausting.

This year for our Christmas cards I plan to create a collage of photos to share.  At least one photo of each child by themselves with a couple of family shots.

Every time I found a child sitting down or was able to get their attention for a brief moment I would beg them for a photo.  Luckily my parents went with me to the pumpkin patch so my mom was able to capture a few photos for me of me with the kids.

Darn Wind

Getting Annoyed {this was towards the end of our trip, Gabby had enough}

Moments That Make It All Worthwhile

Shutterfly has kicked off an initiative to inspire families everywhere to capture those favorite family moments for their holiday greeting cards. Shutterfly’s Family Photo Days program consists of fun ideas and ways to capture the best photos, various meetups in different cities hosted by mom groups to gather together and take photos for one another, house parties where the host invites everyone over to take photos or share tips on capturing fun family photos and even some contests and promotional ways to encourage families to take their photos now in preparation for holiday card ordering.  You can find out more information about the Shutterfly Family Photo Days initiative online.

Full Disclosure: I was given a code to order complimentary holiday greeting cards from Shutterfly in appreciation for posting about their Family Photo Days initiative.