Christmas Photos 2017

We got our family Christmas photos back! 
And OMG you guys! I am in LOVE! 
Perna Photography did it again! She is a goddess with a camera!

First off, LITERALLY everyone warned me to pick my outfit for our family photos first, 

then do everyone else.

AND what am I doing the night before our pictures, yup, trying on everything in my closet, sending pictures to friends, annoying my husband asking him which he likes better, and laying all our clothes out next to each other on the bed. 

Rookie mistake, I know. 

But I found this dress for Sawyer at Old Navy and I fell in LOVE, 
I mean come on! Major heart eyes!!!

So, of course, I had to build the rest of our outfits around her dress.

 Luckily Ben already had his sweater {I can’t even with that man} 
and Ulric’s was pretty easy too! Don’t you just love toddler boys dressed up! 
They look like little gentlemen! 

Now, hopefully you all already have had your Christmas photos taken and even have sent them out {or maybe you are like me and people will get them… eh probably around New Years if they are lucky} but I wanted to list a few helpful tips to make the next family photo sessions a little less stressful! 

1) Choose your outfit first mamas! Ladies DO NOT make my mistake. We are the worst critics about ourselves and usually never like how we look in photographs, so make sure you find something you like and feel confident in! Also, if you are dealing with babies and toddlers, don’t forget to make sure you are comfortable in it, because as you know there will be alot of running after, bending down and picking up! 

2) Match but not too matchy matchy. Definitely want to coordinate colors between the fam, but not to the point where you get lost in a sea of blues. I also like to throw in a pattern, or a pop of a complimenting color! 

3) Pick a good time. Now, I first hand know it is hard to find a “perfect” time where all kids are happy, fed, and not fussy. Its a juggling act. But try to think about the best windows of time where most, if not all the kids are in a good mood. We picked afternoon after both kids have napped and have had lunch. Plus, the lighting was AMAZING!!!

4) Expect a meltdown. Or two. Just go ahead and plan for the kids to loose it, that way you won’t stress about how they are acting. 

This is definitely getting framed!

5) Go with a photographer you are comfortable with. They are YOUR family pictures, that not only you are paying for but going to look at for years to come. We got very lucky by having our friend, Shay take our family photos. She already understood that we have to let Ulric sort of run the show. We let Ully do his thing and we just try to sneak in the rest of us for a photo. 

But I like candid pictures MUCH more than posed ones. They capture our family, the way we are and I LOVE that because lets face it life is messy, so why shouldn’t your family photos show it! Plus, I want to remember my babies this way!