The funny thing about family holidays is that there are always going to be some bad times.
But thanks to the amazing abilities of the human brain, some of the less pleasant memories of a generally enjoyable holiday visit will more than likely fade over time.
So, looking back at past holiday journeys, we may only remember the enjoyable highlights, but not necessarily the carsickness, the fighting over directions, the crummy traffic or the surly kids in the backseat.
Family photographers must balance a fine line between honestly chronicling even the temporarily rough edges of a holiday trip, and pretending that every blessed moment was absolutely sweeter than sugarplums.
Here are some strategies for those seeking smiles, even if it means that everyone – including the photographer – must grin and bear it for a bit.
- Don’t force the grin. Nothing works worse than commanding a smile to those who are wearing their mean faces. You’ll either get larger frowns or frightening smiles.
- Turn the tables. One method to produce genuine smiles is by asking the group to make their meanest, unhappiest faces ever. By forcing themselves to produce the best scowls around – and then seeing everyone else’s effort – you can lighten the mood briefly, at least to shoot a second happier photo.
- Take a lot. By this we mean set your camera on multiple takes/repeat and shoot several in sequence. Since most of us are shooting digital now, we don’t have worry about wasting film, so we can take a whole bunch and then pick the best of the batch.
- Take turns. This can be a risk especially if you like being king or queen of the camera during the holidays. But on longer trips, everyone can have an opportunity to try to pose people and try their own strategies to get smiles. Plus it’s a way to see events from the perspective of different people, making the trip photos true family memories.
- Bribes are good. Who cares if the kids are smiling because they’re getting ice cream next, or mom is grinning because she gets to pick next year’s destination. At least we all look happy.
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