I had so much fun with last year’s Christmas cards by Pear Tree Greetings (see last year’s post here) that I’ve partnered up with them this year to share our 2014 card! The feedback from friends and family was so positive that I knew I had to use Pear Tree Greetings again this year.

It was so hard to decide on a design and layout because they have so many unique and fun to choose from. But, the process to make a photo card is quite easy – pick a design, upload your pictures, and drag your pictures to where you want them on the card.

After looking through our favorite photos by Maggie Russo Photo (see post here), I decided on the trifold dots card with the word “JOY” on the front cover. I thought it fit so well with our balloons that we used as props for the session. These cards are high quality and the pictures turned out clear and perfect.

I’m not a pro at family portraits but I think I’ve learned a thing or two from our many family portraits  over the past few years. And now that Luke is getting older, it is getting harder to get him to sit still in front of the camera. And don’t get me started on his unpredictability.

Here are a four simple things that have worked for us.

1. Pick a a common color for your outfits. 

For our photo shoot, Luke’s red bow tie from Crew Cuts was my color inspiration. So, I decided that we would all wear some shade of red. I found a red belt from Anthropologie to wear with my dress. To complement the red, I decided on white and khaki since I know my husband has tons of khaki pants (whew!). We tried to keep it simple, and I think we succeeded.

2. Bring toys that your child likes to play with or hold.

If you can see in our portraits with Maggie Russo, Luke was holding two cars in his hands. He’s obsessed with cars. So, I knew if we brought the cars, he would be more comfortable with them in his hands and more engaging with us and in front of the camera. If you like, have the photographer take pictures of your toddler playing with his/her toys.

3. Use small props.

I know, I know…there’s a million things going through your head when preparing for a photo shoot and props just aren’t one them. But, this year we used balloons. They’re inexpensive but add so much color to our photos. The only problem was getting them into the car. But it was worth it because they brightened up our photos and just added another cool visual element.

4. Have fun!

I normally stress out during our shoots because Luke isn’t cooperating or my husband isn’t posing the way I want him to. But I’m slowly learning to let those things go and just have fun. Put trust in the photographer that he/she will capture the right moments.