Are you sending out holiday cards this year? Tis’ the season for family photo sessions. Here are a few of our favorite tips for taking a good family photo…

If you can have a professional photographer take them then, GREAT! But sometimes everyone is all booked up by November. Here are a few tips I’ve learned for taking our own family photos.

1. Use Natural Lighting. Turn off any overhead lighting and stand near a window or door. This will make the tone and temperature of your photos look good and will help avoid any harsh shadows.

2. Choose a Fun Backdrop. I always try to plan something that represents our year. The year our family moved to a new apartment downtown we took a picture in the street downtown. Or the year we traveled a lot we chose pictures from our travels.

3. Coordinate clothes. I try not to be too matchy-matchy but I always lay out clothes in advance to make sure everything looks good together.

4. Add props! This is a fun way to liven up photos. It gives you something to interact with and focus on, which helps the photos feel less awkward. Try confetti, tinsel, garland, lights, disco balls… anything that fits your style.

If you’re in San Francisco or New York this Sunday, you can head to special Gap stores between 11am-2pm to take professional holiday portraits for free and receive exclusive shopping offers! If you spend $100 on new clothes, you’ll also get $45 off your purchase AND $50 toward your holiday cards at Tiny Prints. See all the details here!

This post is sponsored by Gap.