Family Photos with an Old Truck

If you follow us on Facebook, you know that The Harris Sisters are all about family photos. We take nearly every opportunity we're together to get group photos. We thought we'd share some tips and tricks we used to take photos the last time the whole group was together.

Old trucks are extremely popular right now. This past Christmas, you really couldn’t go anywhere without seeing a “little red truck” – ornaments, signs, decorations, family Christmas card photos – you name it.

So we wanted to use an old truck into our latest family photo shoot.

How To Plan Your Own Truck Photoshoot

Our first step was to find some photos for inspiration. Looking back on old family photos, we found out that apparently our family has always liked to take photos with vehicles!

Here are some throwback photos of The Harris Family with their beloved cars.

Find Photo Inspiration

This is our Great Grandma Wolfe circa 1945:

This is Mama when she was a little girl. We don't have a date on this photo, but judging from Mama's age in the photo, it should be some time in the early 1950s:

These are photos of Mama and Grandma Elizabeth with the same car (back and front shots) in 1972:

Here is a photo of Mama, Deanna, Donna, and their prized rag dolls (both named Raggy) in 1978:

And here are some of the kiddos with a vintage VW Beetle in 2011:

Find Your Truck

The truck for your photos doesn't even have to be a truck - any vehicle that is meaningful to your family will be the best choice for you.

What about an old car? Or a vintage camper?

Maybe a tractor? A motorcycle? A police car? Or a fire truck?

The possibilities are endless!

The Harris Sisters have always had some sort of old vehicle at our disposal for family photos.

Daddy is a long-time car collector and professional tinkerer. He is always on the lookout for a “new” old vehicle to restore, so finding our old truck was easy. 

His current old truck (a 1964 Chevrolet C10 that he calls Pretty Boy) was actually a gift from his good friend. It had previously belonged to the friend's dad, and he inherited it when his dad passed away.

Daddy's friend wanted him to have it because he knew that Daddy would bring it back to working condition and then also thoroughly enjoy it. And he has!

Pretty Boy is scheduled for a new paint job soon, so we wanted to make sure to get a set of family group photos with the truck while it is its current cream color.

Make a Shot List

We started off with list of photos we were interested in getting with the truck during this photoshoot.

That way, we had a plan and we would hopefully get all the photos we wanted. Our mission was to get photos of:

• the sisters
• the sisters and Daddy
• Daddy with all the grandchildren
• whole group

What to Wear for Your Photoshoot

When planning our outfits for this photo shoot, we knew that we wanted to incorporate custom embroidered speed suits that Deanna bought us for Christmas.

When else are you going to get the opportunity to get your photo taken in a mechanic’s uniform next to an old truck?

We accessorized our navy blue speed suits with pops of red and had the rest of the group dress in simple white shirts and blue jeans.

These outfits worked well with Daddy’s cream colored truck for family photos.

Try Different Angles and Setups

We chose to take some photos with the hood up (as if we were working on the truck) and some with the hood down.

We tried to shoot the truck from a few different angles to see what worked best.

We made sure that the truck itself was positioned in front of a nice backdrop – an old barn in the woods behind Daddy’s house.

When it came to the larger group shots, we made sure to arrange people in the truck bed, in front of the truck, and in the driver’s seat/behind the wheel.

That way, we were able to vary the heights in the photo to create more interest.

If you are a long-time reader, you might recognize this truck from some quick family photos we took during Thanksgiving one year.

The grandkids have certainly grown since then!

Just to give you some perspective:

• The baby that Daddy is holding in the picture below is Emma. (And she is no longer the youngest grandchild. That distinction now goes to Lexi, our little redhead shown in the photos above.)
• The little girl in front of Misty is Charlotte (pictured in the driver's seat in the photos above - she is old enough to drive now!). 
• The two boys in the picture below are Aidyn and Jaxon. (They are the handsome young men in the back of the truck in the photos above. Aidyn is in middle school now.)
• Of course, Daddy, Deanna, Misty, and I have not aged a single day! (Magic, I tell you!)

Bonus Tip

Once you get into the habit of regularly taking family photos, we've found that THE BEST thing to do with them is make a custom photo calendar for Daddy.

We make him a photo calendar every year at Christmas that includes that year's photos and he loves it.

It's a nice way to make a personalized and memorable gift for someone with a large family like ours!

Hope we’ve given you some tips and ideas that will help you with your own family photoshoot with an old truck!

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