GUIDE

Our toddler squirms, makes faces and cries every time we try to take the Christmas card photo. How do we get one usable shot?

By the seenow! teamLast updated:

Stop waiting for stillness and let the camera catch the one good moment. Use burst mode or a Live Photo on iPhone, or Top Shot on a Pixel, so each press gives you many frames to pick from. Keep each try to a few minutes, and plan a collage card in case the group shot never happens.

WHY

Why this happens

A Christmas card photo asks a toddler for everything they are worst at: sitting in one spot, looking at a phone on cue, smiling on command, wearing stiff clothes, all at once. A one- or two-year-old has no reason to care about a card. The longer the adults coax, the more the child senses that something is at stake, and squirming turns into tears. Older siblings get tired of holding a smile, and the whole thing ends with everyone upset.

The usual instinct is to try harder: a better outfit, a bribe, another session. Often the opposite works better. The photos that end up on the fridge are rarely the stiff posed ones. They are the toddler mid-laugh, the sibling hug that lasted one second, the pajama outtake.

Your phone is already built for this. Both iPhone and Pixel cameras can capture a quick run of frames from one press and help you pick the one where the eyes are open. Instead of asking a toddler to hold still, you take many frames of a moving child and choose afterward.

HOW TO

What you can do starting today

  1. Shoot in bursts, not single tapsNo app needed

    On iPhone, open Camera and drag the Shutter button to the left; it keeps shooting until you lift your finger. Apple's guide says gray dots under the burst thumbnails mark suggested keepers, and you tap the circle on each photo you want to save. If dragging is awkward while you are also waving a toy, go to Settings > Camera and turn on Use Volume Up for Burst, then hold the volume up button instead. Fire short bursts when your toddler turns toward you, not one long one.

    Source: Apple iPhone User Guide: Capture action shots with Burst mode

  2. Use a Live Photo or Top Shot to pick the frame laterNo app needed

    A Live Photo records a moment before and after the tap. In Photos, open it, tap Edit, move the white frame to the instant your child looked up, and tap Make Key Photo. On a Pixel, Pixel Camera Help says Top Shot takes a burst of photos and chooses the best one automatically; turn it on by setting Top Shot to Auto in the Camera app's settings. Either way, a wiggle at the moment you tapped no longer ruins the shot.

    Source: Apple iPhone User Guide: Edit Live Photos on iPhone / Pixel Camera Help: Get a great photo every time with Top Shot

  3. Give your toddler something to do instead of a poseNo app needed

    Toddlers cooperate better with a task than with "sit still." Hand them an unbreakable ornament to hang, a favorite stuffed animal in a Santa hat, or a cookie to hold. Let an older sibling read them a holiday book while you shoot. Pick a time when your child has just eaten and is rested, and stop after a few minutes, whether or not you have the shot.

  4. Have a plan B the toddler cannot ruinNo app needed

    If the group shot will not happen, make a collage card from separate pictures: each child on their own, one silly outtake, one candid. Look for a card layout with room for several photos before your first session, so you know a mix of single shots is enough. Deciding on that early takes the pressure off, and a toddler who feels less pressure usually gives you more to work with.

WITH SEENOW!

Doing it with seenow!

seenow! is a family app for short videos, about 2 seconds each, shared in a private group. It will not make the card, but it can keep the moments that never make it onto one.

  • The squirming, the cookie grab, the sibling hug that lasted a second: a 2-second clip catches these. Post them to a group of grandparents and relatives you invite, and they see the real photo session, not just the result.
  • seenow! turns each week's clips into a recap video automatically, so the card-photo week comes back as one short video.

What seenow! can’t do

  • seenow! does not design or print cards. Take the card photo with your phone's camera and use your card maker.
  • Photos already on your phone, including the bursts above, cannot be posted to seenow!. Only photos and videos taken with the seenow! camera can be shared there.

POINT

Things to watch for in this situation

Delete the extra bursts afterward

Bursts and Live Photos add up fast. Once you have picked your keepers, delete the rest of each burst so your phone storage is not full by Christmas morning. Apple's guide explains you can delete a whole burst from its thumbnail.

Watch the background, not just the face

When you are chasing a toddler around the tree, it is easy to miss a pile of laundry or a house number in the frame. Before you send the card to a long list of people, check what else is in the photo.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How do I take burst photos on an iPhone?

Open Camera and drag the Shutter button to the left. It keeps shooting until you lift your finger. You can also turn on Use Volume Up for Burst in Settings > Camera and hold the volume up button.

What if my toddler cries every time we try?

Stop for the day and try again another time, after a meal or nap. Use a collage of separate, candid shots if the posed group photo is not working this year.