Family portraits are such a big deal for most mothers. At one point in your life, you may have been dragged into a photo studio with the entire family to get your photo taken. Maybe you were forced to cram yourself together into a nice corner and get your photos taken with a camera timer. But one thing is for sure – not all family portraits are the same.
Source: Pixabay
There are some with clearly uncooperative family members, some with weird photoshop magic going on, and somewhere the masterminds had the weirdest themes or ideas – all for the sake of coming up with a unique photo to send to everyone on holidays. Here, we gather some of the most bizarre family photos that we could find.
Head of the family
During the 80s and the early 90s, superimposing photos were the trend. But it was not executed as nicely as it is done now. Nevertheless, they were very popular when it comes to family portraits.
Source: Living 101
As seen in this example, the trademark is to have the head of the family’s giant face superimposed on the background of the portrait of the rest of the family. And this has gone on for a lot of generations and families.
Send in the clowns
In this awkward family photo, an odd girl stands out as the rest of her family had clown makeup on. It looks like this one was taken after a presentation where the whole family dressed up as mimes and the rebellious girl was the only one who did not participate.
Source: Living 101
The fact that most of the people in the frame are not smiling made the whole concept weirder. The older lady even looked scary with her makeup on. It’s kind of hard to believe that this group is out to spread some joy and laughter.
Nicotine high
One look at this picture and you just know that this is just wrong. Take note that the health drawbacks of cigarette smoking were not made public until the 1960s although we can clearly say that this photo was taken way after that.
Source: Living 101
What makes this photo a bit funny is that the youngest kid seems to be enjoying the cigarette. No parent in their right mind would probably succumb to this theme. Whoever’s idea this was, someone probably needs counseling.
Scripted family vacation
Candid photos are the trend these days but back in the day, candid photos were, well, too scripted. Here is a family portrait that seemed to take a family vacation theme but there were just so many things going on it looked like pure chaos. This family looks like they have not gone through a real camping experience in their life.
Source: Living 101
The boys seemed to not know what to do with their tools. The fishing rod’s hook got caught on the binoculars of his sister and the younger boy seems to be aiming his weapon towards the mother. Meanwhile, the mother had this overly fake expression on her face as she portrays amazement over the book she is reading. It is all just too much!
Left out
When you take a look at this photo, you would think that this kid was deliberately left out of the pictorial. Just look at that little face, looking as if he had been rejected! The middle child syndrome is real, folks!
Source: Living 101
To be fair, one of the parents explained that the other child snuck off on his own while they were taking pictures. But it seems to be something that they should have noticed. If this kid grows up to be the black sheep in the family, we can probably look back to this photo as a reference of where it all began.
Blind to the chaos
When it comes to family portraits, one of the biggest problems a photographer will have to encounter is making kids stay still for just a few seconds. This family picture perfectly captured sibling rivalry in action.
Source: Living 101
The eldest child seemed to egg on the infant and the middle child was expectedly just looking for more attention. The parents probably just gave up at this point and posed for the camera, acting as if everything is fine.
Family you can lean on
As the song “Lean on Me” goes, “We all need somebody to lean on” and this family literally showed that they can lean on each other. The poses were just so awkward and it looked uncomfortable. But at least everyone was smiling when the shot was taken.
Source: Living 101
Having a strong support system is very important and it is great if you have found that in your family. But support should probably not be expressed physically. They do look like a tight-knit family literally and figuratively though!
Got Milk?
The Got Milk? campaign was very popular during the early 90s so we could only assume that this family portrait was taken during this time. The advertising campaign that featured stars with milk mustaches captured America by storm.
Source: Living 101
But if this picture was taken when all that Got Milk? craze was over – this could be a bit weird for a family photo. One thing is for certain – drinking milk is good for your health and this family probably loves their milk.
The kids are not okay
This portrait shows mom and dad having the time of their lives doing a carefree but slightly naughty pose in front of the camera. Their daughters, who happen to be with them, do not look amused. Although you can see the younger daughter having a slight smile on her face.
Source: Living 101
It is a hilarious and a cute idea but definitely not frame-it-and-display-it worthy. And God forbid, we hope they did not send this photo to everyone they know over the holidays. Hopefully, Mom and Dad is still able to keep the fire burning till now!
Winnie the Pooh fans
We understand that Winnie the Pooh is a very lovable character. This family seems to take the extra step in showing that they are fans by dressing up as Winnie the Pooh characters for their family portrait. We have Mom as Winnie the Pooh, Dad as Eeyore, and baby as Tigger.
Source: Living 101
This portrait may have looked a little cuter with better costumes. Also, you will have to force most Dads to go along with this concept so kudos to Daddy Eeyore for actually looking like he is enjoying the whole thing!
Sexy siblings gone wrong
Whoever thought of this theme for the pictorial of these siblings should never choreograph a photoshoot ever again. Here, we find two brothers flanking their sister. The boys were shirtless and had bowties on while the sister was dressed in a sexy and short outfit, completed with fishnet stockings.
Source: Living 101
The idea itself was very awkward but what makes it look more awful is the suggestive weirdness their mischievous expressions can imply. I guess this would have been a good idea for couples but for siblings? It’s a huge no-no for us!
The family man
This seems to be a weird idea for a family portrait. What father in his right mind would step on his youngest daughter’s back? She does not look like she is enjoying it either. But hey – at least they are in matching outfits, right?
Source: Living 101
The father looked as if he just took down a huge animal on a hunting game or like he is declaring a plot of land as his own. Whatever it is, he sure looks proud! For sure, this idea might be the father’s doing.
The kids are out of control
Here is a picture of a family enjoying a day in the park but it looks like the parents have decided to give up on their boys to stay put for this photo and just decided to take the picture without them. The thing is, you can clearly see the two brothers wrestling each other behind the mother.
Source: Living 101
Maybe the parents tolerated the roughhousing thinking that they will soon be exhausted enough to keep still for a decent picture. Whether they were able to take another shot worthy to be displayed over the fireplace mantle, we will never know.
Pet rivalry
Now we have seen a few examples of sibling rivalry in this list but we barely see some pet rivalry captured on camera. This photo seemed to be a rare gem. This photo seems to show three siblings holding their family pets and the two dogs decided to go at each other’s throats as the photographer said “cheese!”
Source: Living 101
How the other dog’s mouth seems to be alarmingly close to the person in the middle, who seems oblivious to the fight made it all the more hilarious. At least the siblings looked like they were having the time of their life.
Someone did not have fun
This is a family portrait of a father and his two sons who looked like they just finished skiing in the mountains. While the father and son in front of the camera were all smiles and looking like they were having the time of their life, we can also notice the blurred photo of the other son looking like he had the worst day of his life as he slumped over the hood of the car.
Source: Living 101
The real story behind the pic? The sad kid was throwing a tantrum because he got the wrong drink out of the vending machine. The person who took this picture (probably be the mother) may not have realized that the distraught child was in the frame when she took this picture.
Pumpkin pity party
To be fair, this is not a formal photoshoot. This looks like a small family attending a pumpkin patch event or thanksgiving event. The baby seems to be having a tantrum, the mother is looking for something to distract the baby, and the father’s captured exhaustion is just priceless.
Source: Living 101
This just reminds us how the first baby is always the most challenging time of parenting. Most first-time parents do not have their act together yet and would scramble over every tantrum.
Honeymoon stage
Superimposing in photographs is back these days but back then, superimposing was far from being Instagram worthy. Here is one example of a newly married couple. The concept probably was that the groom who looked like he has his bride on his mind all the time.
Source: Living 101
Although the thought of it was sweet, we can’t help but think that this looks like a movie poster for a thriller novel where the marriage would just end up badly. Hopefully, the couple was able to have a blissful marriage.
A mother’s mind
You know when they say that a mother never stops thinking about their child? This photo probably took it too literally. Here, you can see a portrait of a mischievous-looking child inside the silhouette of a woman’s head.
Source: Living 101
It looks like something out of a horror movie where the mischievous child had taken over the woman’s body and is now in full control of her thoughts. The idea of this photo concept may be sweet but the delivery is just creepy.
Pets are family too
Here is a picture of a couple posing in front of the camera with their pets – a cat and three dogs. Yes, pets are family too and these fur babies deserve all the loving they can get. What makes this photo weird is the fact that the pets seemed to be more photogenic than the couple.
Source: Living 101
It’s hard to ignore the man’s long and unkempt beard and the pets seemed to have more style than their masters too. The dogs were also the ones smiling in the camera while the cat just seems to be fed up.
Butting in
This seems to be taken during a family vacation. It shows the grandparents posing with their grandchildren in a spot with a view. Aside from the grandparents smoking around their kids, we can’t help but notice the guy on the far left side of the photograph wearing skimpy shorts.
Source: Living 101
Is he part of the family? Why didn’t he face the camera? And if he is just a complete stranger, why did they choose to take this picture so close to him? And most importantly, how can we get his level of confidence on those shorts?
Coulrophobia alert
A lot of people these days have suffered from coulrophobia, more known as the fear of clowns. This probably is caused by all the scary clowns they encountered during their childhood. Back in the early years, clowns were not as jolly-looking as we know them now. Cue in this picture of a creepy clown leaning over a little boy.
Source: Living 101
It’s hard to tell if the clown was the kid’s father or someone they just hired to make the kid’s birthday party fun. But we all can agree that the way the clown smiled at the camera was a little creepy.
The cat steals the show
This photo of a couple with their cat is giving us the retro vibe but it is still a disaster. All of them, including the cat, had Christmas sweaters on. But they clearly did not coordinate their outfits. It would have passed on as cute if they wore matching sweaters.
Source: Living 101
While the woman is contentedly smiling at the camera, the man is looking lovingly at not his partner, but the cat. The cat unfortunately seemed just pissed off at being dragged into a photo studio and having to participate in all this foolishness.
A sudden realization
Here is another bad example of superimposing from the early years of studio photography. The first pic seemed like an okay take with the girl smiling sweetly at someone who was behind the camera.
Source: Living 101
But the background portrait was odd. It was as if this young girl suddenly realized that the photoshoot was a stupid idea or someone had shown her something disgusting behind the scenes. The result looks like the girl has some split personality going on.
Poker night?
Card games can keep a family gathering fun no matter what the holiday is. In some cultures, it is even acceptable to play cards during funerals. Here, we see a bunch of women in the family posing with a bunch of cards in their hands.
Source: Living 101
But if you take a closer look, it looks like they are holding up credit cards and gift cards. One was even holding a Blockbuster card – which easily points out how old this picture is. Could you imagine how much this women can contribute to the economy if you release them on a shopping spree?
Rainbow dogpile
This family of six decided to recreate the rainbow by forming a dog pile. They had just enough family members to form the ROYGBV hues of the rainbow so they probably thought this was a great idea until they executed it.
Source: Living 101
But what made this picture awkward is that they had to color their faces as well. Where they afraid people will not get the hint from the brightly colored outfits they were already wearing? To be fair, the kids sure looked like they were having a lot of fun.
Wrong finger
Here is a hilarious picture of a kid with Santa Claus giving the camera a “hang loose” sign – only the kid made use of the wrong finger. The result? Disaster! But because of the kid’s age and innocence, this one can be passed around and give everyone something to laugh about.
Source: Living 101
Santa looking like he just realized what the kid was doing adds more to the hilarity of this photo. We just hope this kid learned to do the “hang loose sign” correctly and that he gets taught that what he did is the fastest way to pick up a fight.
She loves Sunday school
This photo was definitely taken on a Sunday with this cute little girl all dressed up, her hair styled, and a New Testament bible in her hand. But she does not seem too happy about it. This child is clearly not a fan of Sunday School.
Source: Living 101
There will always be that one child that you have to drag to church. It takes a while for kids to appreciate Sunday School. Looks like this child is one of them. Whether this picture was taken before or after church, we will never know. All we know is that this child is grown up by now and is probably wishing this photo was never taken.
One of us is an impostor
One look at this photo and you can get the chills. This one looks just like an ordinary family photo except that they are joined by a ventriloquist puppet. The reasons why are unknown but from this picture, it looks like the puppet belongs to the father.
Source: Living 101
The creepy thing about it is the way the puppet is looking at the baby beside him. It’s as if the puppet is plotting out some elaborate scheme to get the baby out of the picture and to be the only child in this portrait.
The family photo spirit
You know what they say – a picture can be worth a thousand words. And for this case, this poorly timed picture perfectly captured how most people feel about being forced to do a family photo. There is just so much going on – most of them looking just plain bored.
Source: Living 101
The man rolling his eyes at the back was clearly in the middle of an argument with the woman on the far left side of the photo. It looks like the baby was squirming on the grandmother’s lap just as the photographer took the photo which captured a domino of reactions from everyone in the group.