If you’re the DIY sort, you’ll be tempted to take your own family’s pictures. You may have even done it successfully in the past. And yet, I’m here to tell you – it’s a bad idea.

Why is it a bad idea, you ask? Why shouldn’t you do this your self?

I will show you.

The pictures will be okay. But since you’re using a remote, there is no one behind the camera, seeing the pictures in real time to ask one of your kids to angel his body toward the camera (not the woods to the left). And there’s no one to notice that another kid is looking stage left.

And you’ll look at the photos in camera, but you’ll do it a little rushed cause while you’ve stepped away everyone is starting to lose focus. So while you check a few things (like framing, focus, exposure) you may not notice everyone’s eyes. You may not notice that no one is doing what the agreed upon plan for the picture was.

And it’ll be okay. They’re okay. But they’re not awesome. They’re not the pictures you could get if you let go of the DIY mindset for an afternoon, and paid someone to take gorgeous lifestyle photos with you in them.

It would be so nice if someone noticed the tilt of your middle son. If someone was there to gently remind you that when you stand just that way, your double chin is rather prominent. And that perhaps it would be fun to smile? Some times? 

There will be some fun pictures, for sure. You’ll be grateful for your husband’s willingness to shoot for a bit.

You’ll get a lot of fun, great pictures. But they probably won’t include you. And it’s important that you’re included in your family pictures. That my friends, is why you should hire a professional to take your family pictures.