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 Sisters And I Were Professionally Photographed With Identical Dolls In Matching Prairie Dresses.”
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#2 "My Mom's Bed Hung From Chains, And She Had A Mini Bar For A Headboard. 1972."
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#3 "Hi, I’m Jenn And I Sold My First House At Only 3 Years Old."
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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 “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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#5 "My Absolute Unit Of A Baby Brother. For Reference, My Sister Holding Him Was Four."
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#6 "My Mom Said This Was One Of My Favorite Things To Do As A Child."
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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 “He Always Posed For Photos In The Past. Maybe He Didn’t Like The Photographer.”
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#8 "My Friend's Grandmother Went White Water Rafting..."
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#9 “Skipped Preschool To Go Get Glamour Shots With My Mom. Think It Was The Right Decision.”
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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 "My Husband’s High School Goth/Emo/Photoshop Phase Is An Untapped Goldmine."
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#12 “Our 1982 Family Christmas Pic.”
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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 “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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#14 "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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#15 “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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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 Dad, The Morning After Finding Out My Mom Was Pregnant With My Brother. 1982."
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#17 "My Grandparents' First Time At A Japanese Restaurant."
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#18 “My 1981 High School Yearbook Photo With Perm And Spiderman Glasses.”
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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 “Apparently Mom Thought I Needed A Cool New ‘Do For Kindergarten. She Must Have Been Confused.”
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#20 “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.”
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#21 "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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#22 “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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#23 “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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#24 "Grandma Fell Asleep When The Tide Came In..."
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#25 “For My Daughter’s 12th Birthday Party, We Made Masks Of Her Obsession, George Michael, For All Of The Little Girls. Didn’t Realize How Scary It Would Look When They Pulled Them All On At The Same Time.”
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#26 “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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#27 “My High School Senior Photo Has Tortured Me For Years And Now I’m Owning The Embarrassment.”
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#28 "1984, France. The Only Picture I Have Of My Grandma And She Looks Like Grambo."
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#29 "Daughter’s First Camping Trip. This Is How She Woke Me Up At 6:15 In The Morning."
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#30 "A Friend Bought A New House And When A Cable Technician Went Into The Crawlspace They Found This Shrine To Nicholas Cage Complete With Candles, Goblet, Kneeling Rug And Lockbox Of Movie Paraphernalia."
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#31 “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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#32 “My Sister And My Parents Sporting Their Australia, Gold Coast 1982 Fashion.”
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#33 “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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#34 “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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#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 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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#37 “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.”
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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 “My Husband Wanted Coffee But I Didn’t Want To Be Late For Our Family Portrait Session.”
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#40 "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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#41 “My Cousin Told Me Hooters Was A Donut Shop.”
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#42 “This Is The Way My Mother Found My Sister Sleeping. In Her Pajamas She Has A Puppet, A Stuffed Monkey, A Stuffed Seal, Two Blankets, And A Watch.”
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#43 "My Daughter’s One Year Old Picture Didn’t Go Quite As Planned..."
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#44 “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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#45 “My Son’s Senior Picture, Before Which, He Inexplicably Shaved Off One Eyebrow. Apparently, The Photographer Insisted He Draw It Back On For The Photo.”
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#46 “Drew This When I Was In First Grade, Circa 1993. Needless To Say, I Wasn’t The Biggest Fan Of My Sister At The Time.”
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#47 "My Mom’s 1976 Halloween Costume Sure Was Classy."
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#48 “Me, Shortly After Delivering My Twins And With Horrible Nausea And Vomiting From The Anesthesia And My Husband Thought It Was The Perfect Time For A Photo.”
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#49 “My Nephew’s First Picture Day. He Tried So Hard To Have The Perfect Smile.”
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#50 “This Is A Photo Of My Ma And Pop Out On A Date In The ’80s. My Mom Must Have Followed The Instructions On My Father’s Shirt, Because 9 Months Later I Was Born!”
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#51 "There Was A Moth In Our Kitchen."
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#52 “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.”
Image credits: awkwardfamilyphotos
#53 "I Was Shooting Family Pics When This Local Obliviously Walked Into Frame."
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#54 “My Husband As An Infant. I Prayed Our Children Would Not Inherit His Large Cranium.”
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#55 "I Got E Coli Poisoning While We Were On A Camping Trip And My Dad Thought He Should Take A Photo Of It."
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#56 Announcing The Awkward Family Photo Contest In Honor Of #thepeoplewehateatthewedding ?!!!
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#57 “I Think My Family Might Have Liked Seinfeld.”
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#58 "This Is Love. My Dad Is Driving And My Mom Is Squirting Ranch On Each Carrot He Holds Out."
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#59 "Not All Heroes Wear Capes."
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#60 “My Grandma Took Me To The L.A. Playboy Club For My 4th Birthday In 1974.”
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#61 "In Middle School, I Told Everyone I Had An Older Boyfriend, Who Also Happened To Be An Abercrombie Model. This Was My Proof."
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#62 “My Mother Had These Shirts Made For A ‘Professional’ Photoshoot.”
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#63 “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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#64 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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#65 “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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#66 "My Daughter Was Having A Tantrum, And Hid Her Face Under A Pillow. The Results Were Divine!"
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#67 “Not Sure What Grandma And Her Friend Were Up To.”
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#68 "My Dad Learned How To Use Photoshop."
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#69 “These Are My Dad’s Baby Pictures. He Was Born An Old Man.”
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#70 "My Daughter Was Very Upset About Misplacing Her Lost Tooth. I Told Her To Leave A Note Under Her Pillow For The Tooth Fairy Explaining What Happened."
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#71 "Easter Cake My Friend's Mom Made. Those Eyes Rub Me The Wrong Way."
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#72 "My Daughter Fixed Her Cousin's Barbie After The Head Popped Off And Would Not Reattach."
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#73 "My Daughter's Stuffed Dog Rolled Under Her Bed. Checking The Monitor Nearly Gave Me A Heart Attack."
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#74 "Are We Bad Parents?"
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#75 "My Sister Made This Vegetable Tray For My Nephew's Birthday. He Likes Clowns."
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