Life was much different before the digital age. We didn’t have instant access to information or the mundanity in the lives of our families, friends, and acquaintances. Photos were primarily private unless you showed people physical copies.
But as they say, everything on the internet is permanent and public property. Once your awkward family photos go online, they are available for the world to see. If you’re that unlucky, they will be featured on an Instagram page with over a million followers.
We’ve lifted some of those pictures from the Awkard Family Photos account. Hopefully, you won’t see your face there, but if you do, don’t worry. It’s all in good fun.
#1 "My Daughter’s One Year Old Picture Didn’t Go Quite As Planned..."
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#2 "1984, France. The Only Picture I Have Of My Grandma And She Looks Like Grambo."
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#3 “Skipped Preschool To Go Get Glamour Shots With My Mom. Think It Was The Right Decision.”
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Familial relationships are complex, to say the least. We’ve all had our fair share of drama and unresolved issues, which, according to Knox College psychology professor Dr. Frank McAndrew, could be why many family photos turn out awkward.
"You bring in all of these people together with their grudges and their histories on the very day where you want everything to be perfect,” he explained. "We all have to appear to be civil here, so you soldier on in some awkward way."
#4 "My Absolute Unit Of A Baby Brother. For Reference, My Sister Holding Him Was Four."
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#5 “During A Cousins Photo Shoot, My Brother Fell Off The Stool Mid-Temper Tantrum And The Photographer Managed To Catch All Of My Cousins’ Reactions.”
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#6 "This Old Picture Of My Great-Grandmother, Far Left, Makes It Look Like The Cameraman Just Stumbled Into A Secret Meeting Of The Grandmas..."
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But awkwardness is still a theme in many family photos, even if there aren't lingering tensions. According to Dr. McAndrew, this is likely because of the generally unique family dynamics that are different from other relationships we develop throughout life.
"Because we share genes with these people, we care about them in a way that we don't care about anyone else.”
#7 "Hi, I’m Jenn And I Sold My First House At Only 3 Years Old."
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#8 "There Was A Moth In Our Kitchen."
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#9 “My Senior Photo, 1989. I Remember The Photographer And His Helper Had To Move Their Set Up Back In Order To Capture My Whole Head. Side Note: This Picture Got Me Voted Greatest 80s Hair By National Geographic TV’s Contest.”
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Many people experience anxiety, which is why they inadvertently look awkward in photos. Fortunately, there are solutions to this. Veteran wedding photographer Laura Oswald suggests focusing on the photos' outcome.
“When your focus is on how you appear in pictures, you are going to miss out on the experience and not really let yourself be natural,” she wrote in a blog post for her website.
#10 "My Mom Was Amish In The 90s. Apparently, When This Picture Was Taken She Was In Trouble With The Church For Breaking Off Three Engagements."
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#11 "I Really Love Those Quirky Space-Themed Family Photos. My Dog Max Was Less Than Cooperative, But We Managed To Snag This Wondrous Beauty."
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#12 “I Used To Get Really Bad Stomach Aches That Would Keep Me On The Toilet For Hours. I Would Also Get Really Lonely And Apparently Sleepy. Luckily My Mom Was There To Keep Me Company.”
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Photographer Aimee Liz shares a similar sentiment on the mindset shift. She suggests pretending you’re in a movie to allow the emotions to shine through.
“Laughter is just as beautiful as romance, so either way, pretending you’re in a movie about your family’s love is a win-win,” she wrote in a post for her personal blog.
#13 “As A Child, My Boyfriend Loved Appliances And In His Eyes, All Other Appliances Paled In Comparison To The Vacuum Cleaner. When He Was Around Five, His Mom Took Him To A Photography Studio To Get His Portrait Taken. He Asked The Photographers If They Had Any Vacuums He Could Take A Picture With. They Found One In A Broom Closet And Brought It Out For Him… The Rest Is History.”
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#14 “My Sisters And I Were Professionally Photographed With Identical Dolls In Matching Prairie Dresses.”
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#15 "My Husband’s High School Goth/Emo/Photoshop Phase Is An Untapped Goldmine."
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People often say, “When you look good, you feel good.” Your appearance influences your emotions, which is why Seattle-based photographer Neyssa Lee suggests wearing something comfortable if you’re having a photoshoot.
“If you aren’t a short dress girl, or showing off your arms makes you cringe, avoid those things altogether,” she wrote on her website.
#16 "My Friend's Grandmother Went White Water Rafting..."
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#17 "My Mom Said This Was One Of My Favorite Things To Do As A Child."
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#18 “My Grandmother And Great Grandmother Around 1992 Or 93. According To My Grandma, ‘We Went To One Of Those Photo Places In The Palm Desert Mall And They Duded Us Up Like Floozies. We Howled When We Saw These Pictures.'”
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We’d like to hear your thoughts, too. Do you have a lot of awkward photos with your family? How do they make you feel? Comment below, and perhaps share some of those snapshots, too!
#19 “We Were Doing Family Photos For My Sister’s Bat Mitzvah. The Photographer Told Us To Make Funny Faces But My Mom Took It To The Next Level…”
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#20 "My Daughter Was Having A Tantrum, And Hid Her Face Under A Pillow. The Results Were Divine!"
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#21 "My Mom's Bed Hung From Chains, And She Had A Mini Bar For A Headboard. 1972."
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#22 "My Dad, The Morning After Finding Out My Mom Was Pregnant With My Brother. 1982."
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#23 "Not All Heroes Wear Capes."
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#24 "Daughter’s First Camping Trip. This Is How She Woke Me Up At 6:15 In The Morning."
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#25 “I Was About Seven Years Old When My Favorite Betta Fish Died. I Was So Devastated That I Insisted On Hosting A Full Blown Funeral For It. We Dressed In All Black And Even Said Nice Words. My Mom Took This Photo In Our Back Yard Before We Buried It. My Older Sister Is Trying Her Hardest Not To Laugh While I Stood There Holding My Dead Fish On A Paper Plate."
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#26 My Friend Mike’s Rock Star Mullet When He Was Two Years Old In 1989 In Fairbanks, Alaska. I Think It’s One Of The Best Photos On Earth
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#27 “He Always Posed For Photos In The Past. Maybe He Didn’t Like The Photographer.”
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#28 "I Was Shooting Family Pics When This Local Obliviously Walked Into Frame."
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#29 “My 1981 High School Yearbook Photo With Perm And Spiderman Glasses.”
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#30 "We Went To The Beach To Find Shark Teeth, So When My Daughter Yelled "I Found Teeth!" This Was The Last Thing I Was Expecting."
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#31 “This Photo Of My Family Was Taken As A Christmas Picture In Late 1989, After My Younger Sister (The “Pearl”) Was Born.”
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#32 “We Took This Picture At A Friend’s Wedding. It Wasn’t Until After I Posted It And People Started Making Comments About My Husband’s ‘Barbie Arm’ Did We Notice How His Arm Had ‘Shrunk’…”
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#33 “During Our ‘Perfect’ Beach Photo Shoot, My Oldest Son Jumped On My Back, Propelling My Infant Son Out Of My Arms (As My Middle Son Looked On In Amusement). My Infant Son Was Not Harmed, Just Wet And Scared But Mommy Is Forever Traumatized.”
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#34 “My Grandmother, Bless Her Heart, Made This Dress For Me By Hand. However, She Never Noticed The Fabric She Was Sewing Was Covered With Pictures Of A Couple Making Out. She Then Rolled My Hair And Sent Me To School…on Picture Day.”
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#35 "A Fly Landed On My Friend's Face As Soon As The Dmv Took His Picture For His Driver's License."
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#36 “My Nephew’s First Picture Day. He Tried So Hard To Have The Perfect Smile.”
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#37 “Me Being An Uber Goth Teenage Posing Next To Tombstones Unknowingly Covering The ‘S’ In ‘Sweeney.’ Kind Of Ruined The Mood Of The Photo!”
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#38 “My Husband Spent A Good Amount Of His Childhood Years (Early To Mid 1980s) In A Children’s Hospital Where Well-Meaning Samaritans Would Go To Spread Joy And Lift Spirits.”
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#39 “When My Parents Were Getting Their Portraits Taken, The Photographer Had An Idea. My Mom Wore A Tube Top And My Dad Took His Shirt Off. The Photographer Even Entered This In A Photography Contest And Won. He Gave Them A Copy Of The Photo For Posing For Him, But What He Truly Gave Us Is An Amazing Captured Moment That Made Me Wonder If This Is What Married Life Is Like. I Saw This Picture Every Day Hanging Up In Their Bedroom.”
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#40 “My High School Senior Photo Has Tortured Me For Years And Now I’m Owning The Embarrassment.”
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#41 "My Mom’s 1976 Halloween Costume Sure Was Classy."
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#42 “My Wife Was The Flower Girl For Her Cousin’s Wedding And Decided To Slide Down The Railing While The Bird Seed Was Flying After The Happy Couple Was Married. This Was The Result.”
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#43 "Grandma Fell Asleep When The Tide Came In..."
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#44 "My Grandparents' First Time At A Japanese Restaurant."
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#45 “My Daughter And I Had Been Holding Hands And She Was Leaning Away From Me And Our Photographer Caught The Perfect Moment. So The Rest Of Us Are Looking Fabulous While My 2 Year Old Is Crashing Into The Pavement.” … And Later That Day. Seriously.
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#46 “This Magnificent Awkward Moment Was My High School Graduation Photo From 1997. I Remember Thinking To Myself ‘Don’t Fall, Don’t Fall, Don’t Fall!’ While Precariously Balanced On What I Can Only Assume Were Old Books Under A Wrinkled Drop Cloth. When The Photos Were Sent To Me I Was Too Mortified To Give Them To Anyone; In Fact I Still Have The Full Sheets Of Them In A Bin In My Basement. I’m Actually 17 In This Photo, And I Just Recently Turned 40. Not Everyone Gets To Experience Their 40s Twice In Life. I Just Happened To Do It The First Time When I Was In My Teens.”
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#47 “Apparently Mom Thought I Needed A Cool New ‘Do For Kindergarten. She Must Have Been Confused.”
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#48 “Our 1982 Family Christmas Pic.”
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#49 “My Sister And My Parents Sporting Their Australia, Gold Coast 1982 Fashion.”
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#50 “My Cousin Told Me Hooters Was A Donut Shop.”
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