Tips For Documenting Photo Shy Family Members

Hello everyone! ‘Tis the season for December Daily, Journal Your Christmas, Document December … whatever name you use, it’s that time of year when paper crafters create mini albums chalk full of holiday highlights. I’m using the Juniper Berry collection by Basic Grey to create my month-long album & today I thought I’d share some of the pages I’ve made so far. Specifically, pages that include my camera shy hubby Alan.

 One of the great things about a December Daily-style project is that it can really become a family endeavour. It can be a bit tricky if you have a family member or friend who doesn’t want to be included in photos, but it’s not impossible to get them involved too! Tip #1 … have them write out their wish list. Kids aren’t the only ones daydreaming about what’s under the tree!

Tip #2 … Focus on group shots. I find my husband is much more willing to pose for the camera if there are other people in the photo. I found this group shot from his company holiday dinner and immediately printed it out to include in the album.

Tip #3 … Ask them to journal something. If they’re not big writers, you can have them fill out a very straightforward “who, what, when, where” … I used the Kelly Purkey New Adventures stamp set to stamp a journaling card, then handed it over to my husband to fill out.

Tip #4 … Go out of your way to include things that are meaningful and/or important to them. I’m not a huge Star Wars fan but my husband is, so I made sure to create a spread to document the new movie coming out later this week. I’ll probably ask them to write out a quick review in the journaling card and I’m sure he’ll happily oblige as he loves talking about Star Wars!

I hope my four tips have inspired you to get your family and friends involved in the documenting process, even if they’re not big fans of having their picture taken. Happy holidays!