This week I talk with photographer Erika Thornes about family photography during the holidays.

Erika loves capturing life as it unfolds. She is known for her underwater photography and her beach silhouettes. (Erika was on The Fix episode 26 with Jan Kabili and her silhouette presets can be found here.)  I called Erika to talk about photographing her own family during the Christmas season.

Does Erika send photo cards at the holidays? Nope. She takes a photo after the busy season of Christmas and waits until January to take her photos. She sends her family and friends a photo of her girls for Valentine’s day. One Christmas, she made daily composite photos of her girls. She had the photos printed and now brings them out at Christmas to decorate.

Erika and I talk about how to balance being in the moment during holidays and getting great Christmas photos. She has a rule when photographing at family events: five minutes on, 30 minutes off. She doesn’t photograph the whole time. Erika has realized she really only needs one or two great photos and she can get those in just a few minutes. She tells us about photographing her niece sitting alone at a decorated table. That one photo captured the event for her.

In this interview with Erika Thornes, we also cover are photographing children’s performances and photographing Christmas lights.

Connect with Erika and Jenny

Erika: Website, Google+, Facebook

Erika encourages you to write to her and ask any questions you have. She loves helping photographers.

Jenny: Website, Flickr, Facebook, Instagram

On January 1, 2016, I’m starting a 365 Project and I want you to join me. Join the Flickr group. There are already photos being posted. 

You can also find TWiP Family on Facebook and join the