'Tis the Season
For Christmas card pictures - what do you like?
By Arwen Mosher

DEC. 16, 2010 (www.faithandfamilylive.com)  -  Since it’s December, one of the things on my to-do list is Christmas cards. It’s a multi-part process: writing the accompanying letter, ordering the cards, making sure we have enough stamps, actually stuffing and addressing the pile that seems to grow as we work.

But for me, by far the most daunting part is obtaining the dreaded Christmas Card Picture.

I only have two children to photograph, so you’d think it would be easy to get one shot of them both looking decent. Ha! You know it’s nearly impossible, so much so that I haven’t even tried yet this year. I’m using the excuse that Blaise currently has a scratch on his cheek and I want it to heal first, but I’m secretly grateful that I don’t have to tackle the task until next week at the earliest.

Perhaps part of the problem is my own pickiness - I like to use a shot of the kids that looks candid (but of course has to be posed, or I won’t get the picture at all) and I want it, ideally, the capture the beauty and fun of my children’s spirits. It also, of course, has to be in focus and color balanced and coordinate with the pattern on the Christmas cards.

Obviously, I’ve never actually GOTTEN a picture that meets all the criteria. But a girl can dream, can’t she?

Weirdly, my preferences about what sort of picture I like to send out are different from what sort of picture I’m happiest to receive in Christmas cards. Of course I love pictures of other people’s children, but my favorite pictures of other people are ones that include the whole family. I like seeing the parents, too! I especially love candid shots of parents and children together (which are very difficult to get, I know - we have zero of all four of us), and I don’t even care if the photos are high-quality. I just like seeing pictures of our friends and family.

What are your preferences about Christmas card pictures?
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