My Family Portraits Are Awful

Hi Ladies,

I'm proofing my albums rights now, and I must admit my famly portraits are awful. We are all basically lined un up in a field, squinting into the sun. They are far away and everyone looks upset because they are squiting.

Do I need to include them in the album?

TIA

I'm in the same boat too, Wil.  I didn't have a lot of time for family portraits since we were rushed after the ceremony.  So there are only a couple of me and DH with both parents and a couple of us with the entire family and those are with everyone in one big long row.  I wouldn't put them in the album except for the fact that we're having smaller parent albums made by our photog as well as our gifts to our parents.  I think they would want them in there.  I'm thinking I might just put the ones of us with both sets of parents and leave the big "entire family" one out.  They can make prints of that one if they want it.  If you're not doing a parent album, then I don't think it's necessary...

Thx, Beatie. I think they just bring down the feel of the rest of the album.

That is a had one I dont really know what I would do.  I will certainly keep this in the back of mind when we do family pics if they are outside.  Good luck!

I'd leave them out too. That's so disappointing. Just showcase all the awesome photos in the album!

Ditto the other ladies. I wouldn't add them in "just" to have them.

Play up the killer photos that you did get!

I didn't really like most of ours either - I had actually specifically told our photographer that I didn't even want to take "traditional" family portraits (i.e. everyone lined up in a row and looking awkward), because I always think they look bad, but it just kind of happened.  I included one in each of the parents' albums because I knew they would want them, but if your album is for yourselves, I would say definitely leave them out - epecially if you have other pictures of your family members that are better.

Uninspired family portrait (although I love my SIL kissing my nephew):

Family pictures I love:

I think it is important to include them, but that's just me. Our album will be around forever and I want our kids to go through it and see all their grandparents, great aunts / uncles, etc. It basically just added like 5 pics and out of the whole album didn't make that big of dent.

I guess it depends on your vision of your album. If it's just a focus of you and DH, than that's different. Our album is about everyone celebrating! I

Yeah...well...I've been married 30 years and I didn't include my family photos in my album.  I included my picture with my mother putting on my veil, my dad in sort of a misty backround with me in the foreground, my grandmothers walking down the aisle...and so on.  But the family shots in a line-up...forget it!  Those lined up things are so passe and really ugly...I hate them!

We were not thrilled with ours, too?  As the ladies mentioned, I would leave them out and fill them with the individual portraits that you really love...

Marin - your niece is gonna be a heartbreaker someday...