6 photography tips to create the perfect holiday cards

A huge thank you to Snapfish for sponsoring this post. I received a credit towards my holiday card order in exchange for this review. As always, I only share products I truly am obsessed with and all images and opinions are my own.

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The moment you go to your mailbox on Nov 30 and receive your first-holiday card, a state of panic comes over you. How can I be so late? I don’t even have my pictures taken yet!? Here in California is stays warm through those fall months and we don’t get snow so it’s easy to not get that holiday spirit early on.

I do have to admit, even though a whole new level of envy and anxiety sets in when that over-achieving Mom sends me her cards that early, it does get me excited about the holidays.

I rarely check my mailbox, until December rolls around. It’s true, nothing good comes from that metal tin until Christmas cards begin to arrive. There’s nothing like receiving a picture filled card from friends and family during the holidays. Am I right?

So you start to think? What picture will I use? What will we all wear? What location has the perfect landscape? How can I make this year's card perfect? All good questions but the truth is, you don’t need perfect, you just need to be you.

Holiday cards are a way to celebrate all the good things this year has brought as you get ready for the new year. Sending seasons greetings to the ones you love, having that personal connection with a picture of you in their mailbox, let’s you share this year's joys with your friends and family. Whatever goodness came this year, whether it is a new marriage, new home, job promotion or even just celebrating a good year, Christmas cards are something everyone looks forward too. Luckily, you still have time to get that memorable Holiday card out that snags the front space on everyone’s fridge this year.

Here are 6 photography tips to create the perfect holiday cards this year:

1. First things first. Hire a professional to do the job. Yes, iPhone photos are amazing these days and print beautifully and if you happen to have one of those right place, right time amazingly candid photos in your camera roll to use, USE IT! Totally acceptable. However, many of us, including yours truly, take 27 candids all of that perfectly curated shot only to scroll through and delete them all. If that’s you, here’s why you need that professional. These cards may be keepsakes for grandma and grandpa or Mom and dad of their little ones each year, so you want these images to stand out. If you're like me, we only do one family photos session a year, and this it, so hiring someone who knows what they are doing really is necessary.

2. Don’t wait for a snowstorm or the perfect sunset to take those images. Little known fact, I believe the best lighting is a cloudy day. It brings this whole soft and ethereal feel to the photos if you ask me. Bright sunny days, are hard to shoot in. They cause shadows and nobody wants to be overshadowed by a shadow, right? [hahah]. Truth be told even though I love a cloudy day shoot, I dream of one day taking my photos in the rain, you know, all The Notebook circa 2004 style. All I’m saying is the pictures aren’t made by the perfect weather, they are made by you, the perfect people.

3. Find simple and beautiful backdrops in your neighborhood. You don’t have to drive an hour away to stand in a winter wonderland or get all sandy at the beach [although I love a good beach scene] to get the perfect holiday image. Go the minimalist route and find a white wall to stand in front of or stop by that empty field you drive by on your way to work, or that brick wall down at your local mall, that’s the best one! Just find a blank canvas, grab your family and shoot. Then you can choose from about 1000 designs on Snapfish to make your card pop.

4. Use the same color palette but don’t be matchy-matchy. Nothing says Sears family Christmas cards like a family all dressed in white shirts and jeans, so, don’t do that. Here are a few tips on styling your outfits: Pick 3-4 colors [no more than 5] and stick with those. Start with one person's outfit, probably your own because that’s easiest. Try and add in one print to bring it all together. Add some texture with a scarf or vest. And most importantly, be comfortable. The last thing you want is to be fidgeting with your sleeves or pulling down your shirt throughout the whole shoot. Nothing ruins a photo like you tugging your dress down in every photo.

5. Embrace perfectly imperfect. We’ve all been that person. The one who spends hours on Pinterest looking for the right outfits, the right backdrop, and the right poses for our family photos. Oh wait, that’s probably how you ended up here. He he. Well ok, so maybe your that person who’s more concerned with telling all your family members to look at the camera, or smile, or "look happy everyone." And then all your images end up with your mouth open or your finger pointed covering your kid's face. Well here’s my number one tip, skip the perfectly posed, and go for the I’m having the best day of my life look. Some of my most beloved images are ones where no one is looking at the camera. It’s those candid, heartfelt moments and emotions that are snapped in between takes that are my favorite and those can’t be planned.

6. Don’t skimp on the quality of your cards. I’ve tried several companies over the years and abandoned some once I saw the flimsy paper or poor image resolution. This year I used Snapfish and I was super impressed by so many levels. I’m not super good at sending photos to family members with updates, so my holiday cards are the only keepsake they’ll have. We didn’t even send a birth announcement for our first child because I just never found the time. [It still bugs me I missed that] so, ever since then I’ve been determined to do one photo shoot a year and it’s for Holiday cards. Needless to say, since this card is the only thing I send all year, the quality needs to be good. Photos printed on good paper, don’t have to be expensive or take forever to get. Snapfish has tons of designs, and cardstock options and they get the job done in a couple of days.

Lastly, don't take this process too seriously. These photos should show your playful and happy side and if you make this a stressful event, it will show through in the photos. Have fun, play around, have a tickle fight, throw your little one in the air and laugh, and you'll end up front and center in everyone's fridge this year.

With Snapfish you have so many great layout options including these gold foil cards I chose. They offer fast shipping for your procrastinators like me too. And to save even more time, you can have you return address printed for free. I won't be using any other company besides Snapfish from now on for all my card needs. USE CODE HEIDI40 for 40% off your order.