When I was a little kid, I kinda hated getting my photo taken. Going to the seaside was about the sea and not keeping my hair nice for twenty minutes while my father was getting a hold of his new camera. Christmas was also a drag. I mean, exchanging presents and sitting at the table was wholesome, but organizing everyone in front of the damn tree so nobody would fall out of frame -- not so much.
However, family photos aren't just for the people in them but for future generations as well. Someday, my children, nieces, and nephews will look at them and realize that my crooked smile doesn't mean I hate them. They'll realize I've had it since forever. And hopefully, it'll make it easier for them to get along with my grumpy old butt. They're about creating memories, documenting growth, and revealing character.
Awkward Family Photos is an online celebration of these things. It's a place that invites people to submit all the funny, cringy, and of course, awkward moments their family has caught on film, proving that we all know how to make a fool of ourselves, and our descendants will certainly get to enjoy that.
More info: awkwardfamilyphotos.com | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
"My friends Grandma's house. She put a magazine cut out of Leonardo DiCaprio over her late (not so nice) husband's face. The 80+ year old's version of photoshop."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
Recently, Awkward Family Photos even released Cringeworthy, an outrageous adult party game of painfully hilarious, unbelievably awkward situations. But you could say the road to where the project is today started way back.
Mike Bender, one of the main people behind Awkward Family Photos, has always had a connection to awkwardness and comedy. "As a kid, I was very aware of awkward situations," he told Bored Panda. "I didn't exactly want them to happen but when they did, I was excited to have a new story to tell. I think it led me to become a writer after graduating college. I wrote my first movie at age 22 called Not Another Teen Movie and continued to work as a screenwriter for about 13 years."
When the film business began to shift, Mike started to search for opportunities online and saw there was a lot of potential for creative expression there. "Around that time, in 2009, I went home to my parents' house for the weekend and saw my mother putting up what was for me an awkward family photo from my teenage years. She had framed it and was going to hang it in the wall."
"I thought that was such a peculiar idea -- to memorialize this awkward moment. But I also thought it was intriguing. So I met with my writing partner and friend, Doug Chernack, who I grew up with in New Jersey, and he told me that his childhood home was full of awkward family photos. And so we decided to start a website and our only hope was that if we posted our awkward pics, others would do the same."
There were only a few blogs built on user-submitted material at that time, so the guys put up the site and within a week, it blew up, blowing them away, too. "We started receiving awkward photos from all over the world! It felt like something big was happening."
Now, Mike is 45, married, and has two kids. Awkward Family Photos gets hundreds of photos a week, focusing on the most surprising ones. Mike thinks their project got so big because we all can relate to these photos in some way. "Even if it's not their family. they see their family in others and there's something comforting about knowing that you're not alone."
“I took my 2002 Senior Year with my bird, Jeff. It made the yearbook. 10 years later, I caught him reflecting on our long history. Sentimentality in its truest form.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“Grandma wanted a photo with her Thanksgiving table settings. Nobody thought to check the mirror.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“My mom has this picture hanging on her wall in her house for everyone to see. She sends it to me every Mother’s Day. This is me when my kids were little. Apparently my kids needed me and so did the dog, while I’m on the toilet.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“This old picture of my great-grandmother, far left, makes it look like the cameraman just stumbled into a secret meeting of the grandmas.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“My hubby is a teacher. I’m a stay-at-home Mom. We have 5 kiddos, 4 of them adopted through foster care. A long time ago, I heard our pastor point out that when it comes to kids, rules without relationship = rebellion. From that day forward, I made a promise to myself to always make relationship with our kids a priority. And that means having fun with them and having a sense of humor. We want to teach our kids that being able to laugh at yourself (not in a bad, degrading way, but in a good way) is a wonderful attribute. So, we always do crazy photos for our Christmas cards. This year, we decided to make an awkward family photo.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“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.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“This picture was taken at my daughter’s preschool. I think the photographer thought having her hold a flower would make for a really cute and innocent picture.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“My parents keep this framed on the wall. It’s a poem written and illustrated by my brother in second grade.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“One year my mom made my brother and I outfits from the drapes that came with our beautiful couch.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"Just thought I'd share this old picture I found of me and my dad. Hopefully you guys enjoy it as much as I did."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“My great-grandmother worked for a photography studio in the 80’s. She was watching us one day and decided to surprise my mother with professional photos of the three of us. This gem was one of the pictures. I love how my sisters look so cute in the corner of the photo while I am in a food coma floating in the sky.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“Got my 10-year-old daughter dressed up for a nice New Year’s Eve dinner and tried taking a pretty picture of her. I got a haunting photo that looks like she is missing her evil twin.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"My Mom took me to a Glamour Shots in the mall when I was 11 years old. I walked out as a middle aged woman who wants to speak to the manager. This is framed in my parents living room."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“Halloween 1994, when my parents told us they were a sock and a sock box, and asked us to put on our white pajamas, because we were dryer lint.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"This is my friend’s husband inside a pumpkin bounce house. Nothing better than a family outing where you see a live breech birth.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"Me picking mushrooms in Belarus in 1987, one year after the Chernobyl meltdown in neighboring Ukraine."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
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"My grandpa grew this massive carrot in his garden, my sister ate the whole thing and her skin turned orange."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“After my sister broke up with her boyfriend, my Dad spent hours learning how to photoshop so he could seamlessly remove him from our photos. One of my favourite pictures to this day.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“My mom was so excited when it was time to renew her driver license and get a new picture taken. She made herself a DMV appointment, had her hair done the day before, and gave herself extra time to get herself picture ready for her new driver’s license picture. This was the result.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“My daughter’s reaction when holding her new baby sister. Much heavier than the dolls she practiced on.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“This was my mom’s friend on vacation, she just learned how to take selfies and work Photoshop. And so, this gem was born.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“This photo of my family was taken as a Christmas Picture in late 1989, after my younger sister (the “pearl”) was born.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"A local farm where I live had trouble with their flock all wanting to sleep in the same house. The other night they found their dog had joined in."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“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.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“One of our goats and I are both pregnant with twins and due the same week. I made her dress up and take maternity photos with me.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"My German grandparents on a trip to Disneyland in California in 1995... my Grandma apparently didn’t enjoy the ride while Grandpa had the time of his life."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"The year is probably 1999 and this is my turtle Halloween costume from 3rd grade. My mom made it for me and I won 3rd prize."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"This was me and my brother at our aunt’s wedding. His pants were too big for him, but we thought he’d be okay. Of course, his pants came down at the altar.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"On vacation in Mexico, I was kissy-facing with my daughter. Not sure if this guy was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or the right place at the right time."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“‘I didn’t ask for this,’ said our very stubborn 2.5 year old. He had the same expression in every photo from the session.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“In the UK we had a TV ‘personality’ called Mr Blobby. My father rented a Blobby costume for my school fair and after trying it on for the first time tripped and fell down the stairs, splitting the suit on the bottom in doing so. Yes that’s me at the bottom of the stairs blissfully unaware of what was hurtling toward me.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"When I babysit my niece she makes me play Operation. Her favorite part is when she dies and we have a funeral for her."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"It was 4th grade Space Week, I was really into it, and the class had the opportunity to get extra credit if we wore something that had to do with space. Just wearing a space camp shirt would not suffice so yes, that's an aluminum foil space suit complete with grey boots."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“I’m about 2 or 3 in this photo. We were at a family friend’s wedding. Apparently my mom was having fun dancing and not paying attention to me. I bit her in the butt, legend has it that I drew blood.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“My daughter was supposed to be a flower girl in her aunt’s wedding but napping is life. (She was safely strapped in).”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“All week long at this Jamaican resort, we kept running into this man. On the last day of our trip, we had to pose for this photo.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“We had just had our daughter two days ago. Nothing says ‘omg what have we done?’ as much as this picture.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“An uncle gifted my sisters and I dolls made to look like us (they even had matching moles and freckles). My mom felt it was necessary to have professional photos taken with them. Thanks.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"Congratulations to our Weirdest Family Photo winner whose mom cropped out his prom date (at least most of her) to make his new wife feel more comfortable and congrats to all of our strange runner-ups!"
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“This is a photo of my daughter and her father riding the Tennessee Tornado roller coaster at Dollywood. When we saw the photo at the sales kiosk, we laughed so hard we just HAD to buy it!”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“My date for prom (now my husband of 28 years), picked me up at my house and took a few pictures. Then we stopped by his parents house and his dad was mowing the grass. His mom made him get off the mower and get a quick picture with us.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“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.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“Early 90s there was a train derailment onto a gas line near our house. Grandpa thought that was a nice photo op and drove my little brother to the explosion.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“This is a portrait of me and my mom taken at the local Woolworth’s in the late 70’s. My mom thought it would be cute to take photos in our tube tops. I posted this pic on FB as it’s always been one of my favorites; I thought it was so sweet. Two weeks later, a friend saw it on FB and suggested that it could be a contender for your site. I HAD NEVER THOUGHT OF THE PHOTO IN THAT LIGHT, but now that I see what others see, I can’t stop laughing.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“When I was in 6th grade, my two older sisters were popular and had big hair, and I was an awkward kid so I thought I’d be cool for a day. I went to town on the Aquanet hairspray. I used almost half a can to get this Big Bang as tall as I could. The photographer literally had to take a step back to fit my hair in the school photo and i really don’t know how he kept a straight face. I shared this on Instagram once and couldn’t even fit it in the crop.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“This is my parents leaving my grandmothers house after staying there for a month after I was born! My mother didn’t believe she actually could take care of me alone, at 28 years old! That’s my grandmom locking the door in the background! Thankfully they turned out to be good parents!”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“This was my Christening, June 1971. I’m the baby obviously, my Godmother is holding me, my parents are next to her. Their hideous outfits aren’t the “awkward” part of this photo. In the background, my grandmother is pulling my sister’s hair while my brother is recovering from a smack! All of this right on the front steps of a church.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“Grandma made these wonderful crochet vests for each of my husband’s siblings. He looks strangely happy about it. (far right).”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“My father-in-law babysitting my 2 year-old daughter Lillian. I’m just thankful they BOTH fell asleep at the same time :)”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"We were taking our daughter's newborn photos and she would not sit still. The photographer had me lay under a blanket so our baby would feel like I was holding her. I was told not to move. Lasted 90 minutes."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"I was born with a lazy eye. Instead of wearing an eye patch, my parents thought blue masking tape would be less noticeable."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“This is me back in ’93 at the Brantford Skating Carnival. The show was beauty and the beast, and I was a piece of cutlery (a spoon). I had to wear a horrible white unitard, and everyone said I looked like a toilet seat. The worst part is when we were on the ice, it glowed in the dark!”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“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."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“This is a photo of my mom, my brother, myself, and my soon to be born younger brother. I’m awkwardly in the hockey equipment on the bottom left. A family friend talked mom into having us all pose for this photo. It went on to win some sort of award in a Newport, RI photo show. It also hung in our house while I was growing up, which made for some awkward moments when friends came over.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“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.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“This was taken Easter morning in 1986. That’s me and my little sister (14 years younger than me) I had come home from college for the weekend and must have been out the night before. I obviously wasn’t too happy about having to wake up early for Easter festivities. I think when my Mom took this picture, she was just happy to have her son home from college to help celebrate the holiday. The contrast of my little sister all frou frou in her new Sunday dress and me barely dressed, sporting cheesy glasses and a sleazy mustache is just too much.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“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.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“This was the gem of my high school senior picture portfolio. At the time, the effect was cutting edge. Now I like to tell my kids that I had to skate really fast to look that dumb.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"I thought I struck gold, a doll to play with that was bigger than me! So I dressed her up and rode around with her on my bike."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“My dad took me to the mall to get Glamour Shots done for my tenth birthday. I was so excited, this was everything to me. I turned out to look like a 40-something real estate agent, and a possible Delta Burke twin. Designing Women, here I come! LOL!”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“This is my brother and I at Christmas, 1965. I was only 6 months old and my brother obviously thought I was annoying, if not repulsive.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“My parents just texted this to me (they’re babysitting). It’s pouring rain and my dad is teaching my girls ‘how to clean gutters.’ They’re thrilled.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"This was my first birthday. I picked up all the liquor glasses on the table. Passed out, mom called medic, he made me throw up and they put me on the throne. End of story."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"My sister took her daughters to go apple picking in the fall in the hopes of getting a good picture together. The kids were not cooperating and my sister’s face in this picture perfectly encapsulates how she felt about it."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“A friend bought a new house in 2017. 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.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“This is Mother’s Day, 1994. My grandmother asked to try out my new pogo stick, and my mom was there to capture the result.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"This is me and my sister in 1972 posing with the doll we found at our grandparents house. Seems granddad had a “thing."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"My brother at 4 weeks. He reminds me of an old celebrity, just haven’t figured it out yet. Any ideas...?"
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“As a child, I would dress up as a clown whenever there was a reason to celebrate – in this case the birth of my younger brother.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“Today I welcomed my first child into the world. Here’s a photo of me waking up after passing out in the OR.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“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 40’s twice in life. I just happened to do it the first time when I was in my teens.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"My family loves Halloween. Here we are in 1982 with my dad as...who even knows? My mom as an alien? My sister as ET, and other sister as Pac Man. I’m the baby and I think dressed as a duck?"
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
"This is a photo of my parents and all of our heads: four daughters and their respective families. My Dad loves photography, and recently purchased a green screen so that our family photos could miraculously be in any lovely location in the world. This one, however, highlights the fact that he might want to improve his cutting and pasting skills.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“This is my husband and I on the morning of our wedding 20 years ago. We were having studio pictures taken and the local photographer proudly rolled out this faux bay window and told my soon-to-be-husband to ‘peek in from outside.’”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
“I’m in front, brother in back, mom on right. In a hot tub in a garage in Vail, CO ~1977 after a day of skiing. Brother with very unfortunate head gear (how come kids don’t have to wear that anymore?). Brother and I were in inner tubes, for some reason. I’m pretty sure my mom DOES have a swimsuit on.”
awkwardfamilyphotos Report
Yes this was me. Yes my parents actually paid a photographer to take these staged photos. And yes, that last photo is my look of complete disbelief and exhaustion when I found out that I was related to these “adults."
awkwardfamilyphotos Report