It takes 3 months to get everyone looking towards the camera at the same time.
Taking 300 pictures to get one decent Christmas card Works for Me!
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Why We Have to Start Taking our Christmas Photo in September
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Too funny – you crack me up! It’s not just large families. I was thinking about givin’ ours a go already! LOL
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Oh to funny !! I am glad I am not the only one who starts this early
You have some great pics, at least they had fun.
Take care,
Blessings-
Rachelle
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So funny!
I’ll pass on a trick my husband came up with, though I don’t know if it will work with seven kids–it does with our three: If I’m taking the picture of the girls, my hubby will stand behind the camera and hold up a certain number of fingers and ask them how many fingers he’s holding up. Usually, he’s holding up three which gets them close to a smile and I can snap the picture. His other new trick (because they have started to catch on to the first one) is to stand behind me and make goofy faces while telling them NOT to laugh! The result is usually some great gleefully smiling children! 
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I have five so I TOTALLY understand! Totally. My boys make faces like gang members. Then, I will have one that is doing the cheesy fake smile. Then, one will always have their eyes closed. Our parents wonder why they never get a studio portrait. It is because i would rather stab my eyes with a fork. I do better on my own. We got a Christmas card and they have 6 kids. One of the kids was in the uptake of a sneeze. His eyes were closed and his head held up. It was so funny!
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Love it. Each of those pics would be just perfect.
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I feel for you! I can’t even get my 2 to look at the camera at the same time. There’s no way I could get seven to do it!
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If the parents would have been included it would have taken longer I am sure.
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Ah, isn’t that always the way? Your family is beautiful!
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We sit in the picture, too, and use a remote–it’s tricky.
I think this year we might try a mirror in front of us. Of course, the boys and one of the girls would make goofy faces if we do that, so . . .
I don’t know yet!
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Lol! Yep. I feel your pain (I’ve got three boys). Sometimes it’s even my husband being the difficult one. Taking pictures ranks right up there with getting haircuts and flu shots!
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One other tip – photoshop. If you take a bunch of the same picture, use the best one and photoshop in the smiling faces! Works best if you are using a tripod so the face sizes are the same.
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Funny and so true! I have the hardest time getting my husband and son to both smile at the same time! Maybe this year will be better?
Happy Wednesday!
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I think the quirky ones are the best. The imperfections just make them so much more “real life”.
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Oh that’s funny!
Any mama with more than one child knows….it’s a circus at picture time.
We have proof!
Our kids act crazy as soon as the camera comes out!
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I’m a mother of three and photographer and I had to laugh at this one! Believe me, often mine come out the same way! I recently did some pictures for a friend with 4 boys and I was cracking up, because of the busy-ness of the pictures! Someone was always looking down or away or crying! But, that’s real life and I am more about taking real life pictures than posed ones! I love it. You will cherish those pictures and laugh for years to come!
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I usually start in October myself!!
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Too funny! One picture I have seen that was so cute is the kids were all told to make silly faces. It was the cutest Christmas card I have seen!
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I hear you. In my family it take 100s to get one picture where everyone has their eyes open.
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I start early too and I only have 3 kids. When we go to the beach in a couple of weeks I am going to do my best to get a good one.
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I think that your seven do better than my two do and I take photos for a living. I am always better with other people’s kids it seems. I am sure that you will have a great photo that you will send out in no time! You are really getting good with that camera of yours!
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You know my “take” on this one…one year we sent out the photo with the one stickin’ his tongue out and another picking his nose. At least it was real!!! Everyone loved it!
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