It’s that time of the year where your newsfeed is filling up with family photos from your friends’ photography sessions. It’s no surprise that everyone wants a perfect photo for their Christmas card

This year I dropped the ball and didn’t schedule a family session so I decided we would just save some money and take our own photos. Lesson learned. #photosareworththemoney #saveyoursanity

Taking a cue from David Letterman, here’s the

Top 10 Reason NOT to Take Your Own Family Photos:

10. Half of your photos show you pointing the remote at the camera because you forget to put it down and act natural with your family.

9. Prompts fail -Normally telling a family to look at the person who is the messiest elicits laughter and pointing. When done with your own family, it leads your messy child to begin to cry and shout “Mom! Why are you picking on me?” Sorry Jake, just clean your room please!

8. Things like remotes always seem to get up and walk away leaving you to spend hours searching for them. Finding it in your camera bag where it belongs is the icing on the cake.

7. There’s no one there to tell you, you how funny you look. Sometimes an extra pair of eyes is all you need to avoid the ultimate embarrassment of looking naked in your family photos.

6. Good is never good enough, causing you to “schedule” another family photo session and another until your family swears they are done with photos for the rest of the year.

5. Kids have this magical ability to act like angels when they are around new people and demons around their own family. Having a photographer there raises the chances the kiddos will wear the halos instead of the horns. Horns were out and they were ready for a brawl.

4. Running from a pose to check the back of the camera and then back to a pose repeatedly is great for getting steps in, not so great for capturing family memories.

3. Telling your kids to find the fairy in the lens only works once or twice so there’s no one there grabbing their attention.

2. Editing your own family photos means there’s no deadline. It also means they may never be edited.

1. You are so pre-occupied getting the camera, tripod, remote, and blanket into the car that you forget a family member at home. Sorry Jody, we love you I swear!

So, take it from me, even if you have a “nice camera” or you’re a professional photographer like I am, take the time to find a photographer that fits your style and book them early every year! After reading this you are reconsidering taking your own photos, I would love to help you out.