Best Family Portraits

Your children are beautiful, gorgeous, precious – no matter what they do when the family photo is taken, it’s guaranteed they will look good. But what about Mom and Dad? Unless you’re a ham at heart, you may not enjoy being photographed. What’s more, a hectic schedule on the day of the photograph may leave you with little time to prepare yourself for a photo that will be kept for generations.

You’ve no doubt been photographed hundreds of times so you’ve been able to put up with the process since it’s over so quickly. You sit in your beach chair and hoist your beverage or stand in front of the waterfall and “click,” you’re finished with the task. Being photographed that way is painless, and if you happen to take a bad photo, you can always throw that one away.

But when you’re taking the time (and spending the money) to have a professional photograph taken of you and your family, you will be the center of attention for quite some time. Looking your best is going to take some planning.

Jim Sugar, a San Francisco-based professional photographer, has photographed hundreds of people for annual reports, magazine articles and brochures. He estimates that he has encountered fewer than 10 photo subjects in his career who didn’t photograph well. Sugar says that wearing soft, dark colors, monotone outfits with minimal patterns (even in a necktie or scarf) is the basic groundwork for creating a good photograph. Here are some other tips:

Be yourself. If your family is casual, then dress in casual clothes. This will make you feel more natural and relaxed. You will want to feel like yourself, and not like someone who has been dressed by her mother for church.

A new outfit is not necessary. Your first impulse may be to run out and buy a new outfit so you look good. That might not be your best move. Of course, you don’t want to wear anything that’s uncomfortable – where you have to hold in your stomach, tug at your skirt or check to make sure the buttons haven’t opened. All that stress will be recorded on your face. In fact, you would probably do better wearing one of your tried-and-true outfits. This is the outfit that usually nets you a compliment or that your spouse says you always look good wearing.

Don’t rush the day. Allow enough time, even if it means hiring a babysitter for an hour, to dress and prepare yourself once the children are ready. If you arrive at the photographer’s studio huffing and puffing and out of breath, having put your make up on using the rearview mirror, you are not going to look good in the photo. Plan on taking the photo on a day where there are no other plans. Stay calm – especially on a hot day where you don’t want to be dabbing sweat off your forehead. That’s a not good start for looking good in a photo.

Get to bed on time the night before. You want to look rested and relaxed, not as if you can barely keep your eyes open. The camera will definitely pick up those bags under your eyes. Speaking of details, men should also shave again right before the photo is taken to avoid five o’clock shadow.

Smile serenely, don’t grin. Try to smile with your eyes, not with your teeth. A big toothy grin will look both phony and silly. Heed the advice of the photographer, even if it seems a little uncomfortable to you. In fact, enlist the photographer’s guidance for suggestions on how he thinks you will photograph best. A quarter turn to the left may just be the trick to make you look 10 pounds lighter.

Take your own advice. For generations, Moms have told their children to stand up straight. That’s good advice for having your photo taken as well. Pull your shoulders back and don’t slouch.

You don’t have to be a movie star to photograph well. Take the day slowly, stay calm, and you’ll end up with a photograph that will be treasured for years to come. If you’re still not happy with the outcome, remember that when you look at the photo 20 years from now, you will no doubt say, “Oh, look how young I was!”