Last week I headed into Costco to do our usual grocery shopping and right on schedule (i.e. earlier than last year probably) they’ve started to set out winter holiday decorations. It seems hard to think about buying a fake Christmas tree when it’s 84F in September, but just seeing the garland and string lights got me thinking about my family’s holiday plans, gifts I need to start sourcing, and the holiday party we host for our friends each year. I do like to be out ahead of things when possible but especially so when it comes to the holiday season.
If your family books an annual fall photoshoot with a photographer, or if you’ve been wanting to do this but haven’t, it’s a good idea to get out ahead of that now and book one. In the Triangle, Fall leaves start peaking around the last week of October through mid-November and photographers’ schedules start filling up. But when you get your photos back before Thanksgiving, you’ll be very pleased with yourself because those photos can solve a number of common holiday problems. Here’s two examples:
Holiday cards
One of the barriers to getting holiday cards done is searching through your recent photos on your phone and discovering you don’t have a good photo with your whole family. Remember that guy standing outside the Smith Center that took a photo of all of you at the game? Yeah, he was standing too far away and you’re all squinting into the sun. Having a properly composed photograph of your family all getting along (important!) makes your holiday card an easy box to check. Nothing screams “We have our shit together!” more than a beautiful holiday card that arrives near the start of December. Yes, you can be that family this year!
Gifts for difficult gift recipients
My brother and his wife are what you’d call DINKs – Dual Income No Kids. Rather than ferrying kids to sports and constantly cleaning up his house, he spends a lot of time pursuing his various interests like mountain biking, woodworking, and traveling. He is also incredibly hard to buy gifts for because I don’t know enough about woodworking to buy him anything related to that and he probably already has it anyway! What he doesn’t have, and what I know he loves, are updated photographs of his niece and nephews. Print those bad boys out, frame them, and you have found the perfect gift for that normally very difficult gift recipient.
So if you’re in the market for gorgeous fall photos that can simplify your holiday tasks, book a quick call with me here or shoot me an email at mail@ryanbeephoto.com. I have a number of locations around Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Durham where we can get beautiful photos of your family with the most amazing leaves-on-fire backdrops. Be good to yourself this year and get out ahead of your holiday checklist!
