How To Capture The Best Thanksgiving Photos

Thanksgiving is one of the most magical times of the year. Families and friends come together from all sorts of different places and celebrate a holiday that’s all about, as its name would suggest, giving thanks for all the wonders of life in the United States of America. As such- as is the case with many holidays that bring families and friends together- you’re going to want to document the moment. 

But Thanksgiving is also unique in many different ways, and so you’re going to want to capture the scenes from this special holiday in a way that, when you look back at the photos years down the road (whether in a physical scrapbook or simply on Facebook) leave no mistake about what time of year it is. And believe it or not, it’s just around the corner!

Here are three specific shots we at Tumbleston Photography recommend you include for your scrapbook.

Kids playing in the leaves

The least expensive way to see your children’s faces light up with smiles is to send them outside to interact with the seasonal elements of nature. Most youngsters love collecting piles of leaves and tossing them in the air so that they return down to earth as unique forms of precipitation, or simply rolling around in them. Make sure you capture at least a few pictures of them playing in the colorful, crackly leaves so that they can show their future descendants about what Thanksgiving was like way back when!

Plenty of still shots of food

Is it even a Thanksgiving turkey if you don’t have a picture of it? We kid, but years later, everybody is going to be brought back to the time they devoured that delectable oversized bird to honor the holiday of being thankful when they see a picture or two of it. Of course, every great Thanksgiving turkey needs some equally delicious side dishes to complete the meal! Mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, greens, sweet potato casserole, and more- make sure to set it all up in the right light and capture them all individually so you can brag about how awesome your Thanksgiving meal was!

The family shot at the table

Of course, no Thanksgiving is truly complete without showing the collection of friends and relatives who have gathered together to take in this special holiday in a moment where they clear their minds and dedicate their thoughts to all that they’re thankful for. Depending on the personnel, you have several ways to go here. You could ask everybody to hold hands, bow their heads in silent prayer, all look at the camera and smile- and any combination of shots in between. If the table setting doesn’t provide an adequate opportunity to take photos for whatever reason, a universally accepted substitute is simply having everybody stand in front of a wall in a room with good lighting, or simply on the front steps of the house. But in some form or another, you must gather everybody together for a photo that shows how much fun they had simply been together!