Smile…It's Picture Time

When I was in school, I always looked forward to taking our yearbook pictures. Not quite as much as I looked forward to field day on the last day of school, but picture day was still a big deal. I always picked out my best outfit. I took rnextra care with my hair and made sure my face was nice and clean. I would even wash behind my years. The eighties marked my teenage years. My child love to browse my yearbooks and laugh at the photos from those days. They can't help but wonder just what exactly we were thinking. When I look at the photos, I can't figure out how the photographer managed to get both our big hairstyles and our face all in the same shot. I conducted a search of the internet for bad yearbook photos and came across a site at BadYearbookPhotos.com. The rnmotto, "Because everyone has one," certainly hits home for many. If your child is giving you flack for a bad rnyearbook photo, take them to this site and show them it could have been worse. In order to avoid having your own children's pictures end up on this website some day, I have a few tips for rnyearbook picture day. The first tip is you shouldn't overdo it. Send your child in clean clothes, but don't dress rnthem up in their Sunday best. Save that outfit for the family photo you send out on your Christmas cards. Make sure your child takes a comb or brush with them on that day so they touch up their hair before the photo. rnAlthough some little girls might want their hair done in a special braid or with a pretty barrette on picture day, rnavoid styling their hair as if they are going to the prom. The yearbook photo is intended to capture your child as rnthey are. Take them to Glamour Shots for the updos. Help your child understand that they should just act naturally during the photo shoot. Then again, maybe rnyou should talk about just smiling naturally. Since there is often only one shot taken, there is a lot of pressure rnto get it right and sometimes they may exaggerate their smile. You could even practice with your child the night rnbefore to help them relax. If your child is sick on picture day, don't even think about sending them. A child that is forced to attend school just because rnit's picture day most likely won't produce a quality photo. Keep them at home and save the photo shoot for picture rnmakeup day. A lot of children look forward to their yearbook pictures. But for many, it's a day of pressure and angst. They rnknow their classmates will be scouring the pages once the yearbook is fresh off the press. Follow these simple rntips, and hopefully you can help your child have a yearbook photo that won't end up posted all over the internet.