People Submit Their Most Awkward Family Pics To This Instagram Account, And Here Are 50 Of The Funniest Ones
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.
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"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."
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.”
“Grandma wanted a photo with her Thanksgiving table settings. Nobody thought to check the mirror.”
“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.”
"My daughter looks like a mom that regrets all her life decisions."
"My Great-Grandmother, born in 1899. Never met her, but definitely a legend."
“This old picture of my great-grandmother, far left, makes it look like the cameraman just stumbled into a secret meeting of the grandmas.”
'you heard our super-secret cookie recipe! Now we have to eliminate you!'
“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.”
“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.”
"Reason #82 why dads shouldn't be left alone with their kids."
“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.”
“My parents keep this framed on the wall. It’s a poem written and illustrated by my brother in second grade.”
"My swag peaked in 1987."
...and then Mrs. Michelle told us to colour in the picture, absurd isn't it? May I have another shot of this no-preservatives fruit juice, please?
"I found my spirit animal at a very young age."
it looks like the little girl is breaking off their friendship.. and the hippo still wants to be her friend
“One year my mom made my brother and I outfits from the drapes that came with our beautiful couch.”
"My friend's baby pictures look like Mrs. Doubtfire."
“Her husband went to the pregnancy room with her to cheer her up.”
“This is me and my dad 1977 Coney Island. He would be vilified and in jail today for this.”
"When your Grandma looks like Taylor Swift and your Grandpa looks like Hugh Hefner's Brother."
"My mom with her brothers and sisters in the 1980s."
Eight kids, all so close in age? I'm thinking this one's not what it claims to be.
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The quantity of hairspray is so huge in this picture, I just got cancer.
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Wow! I have never seen so many good looking people in one family! Need a now picture!
wow that is an amazing photo for so many reasons, not all of them good.lol
I wonder how many cans of Aquanet they went through for this photo shoot.
Like that episode from the Friends, when Chandler slept with one of Joey's sisters but forgot which one.
Never understood the highly coifed and proofed curly overly highlighted hair of the 80s. I lived through those years chuckling at girls with hair like that, I left my hair natural and rarely used a hair dryer, which meant I didn’t panic when it rained.
I went for a perm during my last 2 years in high school - I was the only guy with one at the time - oops. My besties roasted me for it, but hey, I felt cool…
Single-handedly destroying the ozone layer, as one did in those days. ;)
Can anyone born from this century even comprehend the amount of hairspray it took to keep that hair through a whole disco night?!?!?! It was he-l!!!
Holy chit ! The hairspray used in this family alone, started global warming . This legit looks like a family soap opera , I love it !
Wow could thy poof that hair any higher? I am so glad that I never did this kind of thing to my hair in the 80s. Ive always had long hair And I usually had it either pulled into a ponytail or just straight down.
How many cans of hairspray did it take to achieve this awesomeness!
These people and their hairspray are PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HOLE IN THE OZONE LAYER!!!!
Oh, I hope these hairstyles never come back. The horror of going to the movies and being forced to sit behind that.
Not awkward or funny - it was then! They look brill! FCS - they'll be laughing at you in 20 years'! And I bet you won't look this good
"FAME! I'm gonna live forever! ...or at least until the perm washes out."
Yes, we are the generation responsible for killing the Ozone layer. :)
This is the picture that came with all the picture frames I bought in the 80s now I know all those stylish models were actually related
Looks like a Glamor shoot of the cast of an 80s movie. Beautiful family.
all those eyes. They look like they're going to cook me in a pot of boiling water. Yikes!
“Bring a toddler to a wedding, they said. It will be cute, they said.”
"My dad teaching math in Southern California, late 70's/early 80's."
“My mom said this was one of my favorite things to do as a child.”
"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."
“There’s a reason why my sisters were accepted into private school and I wasn’t.”
"Our social distance Easter photos turned out terrifying."
“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.”
“My friend managed to make this bubble.”
“I was baptised when I was about 10 and yes, those are my legs.”
My grandfather sent me this photo, which he took in celebration of his eightieth birthday.”
Are those fig leaves? I would be in the hospital 10 minutes later ! lol....
“If your mum wasn’t making herself into a ramp for your new BMX, did she even love you? 1980’s.”
“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.”
“Meet Uncle Jack, the goth uncle.”
My sister was going through her goth stage when my daughter was born. My partner called her the Auntie Christ.
"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."
"That moment you realize you're not the only child anymore."
"My great-aunt uses her old television as a stand for her new one."
“We had the worst wedding photographer in the world. I think this says it all.”
“My adorable son was a wee bit chubby as a baby.”
“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.”
"This is my friend’s husband inside a pumpkin bounce house. Nothing better than a family outing where you see a live breech birth.”
“My siblings and I were forced into a ‘pet look alike’ competition. It still haunts us.”
"My Mom's bed hung from chains, and she had a mini bar for a headboard. 1972."
"Me picking mushrooms in Belarus in 1987, one year after the Chernobyl meltdown in neighboring Ukraine."
Note: this post originally had 159 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
Yes, yes. There are times I want to keep punching that up arrow!!
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Best photo I got was of my now ex-husband with hat, coat, jacket, and laptop bag on his way out to work. He smiled happily while I took a picture. I let him get to the door before I mentioned he had forgotten to put pants on. (He was wearing silky Winnie the Pooh boxers. Such a great pic.)
My siblings from 1980. My little sister is surprised about something. 14364820_1...01cc3a.jpg 
Years later...her daughter ava-5f6042...3973c6.jpg 
Yes, yes. There are times I want to keep punching that up arrow!!
Load More Replies... Best photo I got was of my now ex-husband with hat, coat, jacket, and laptop bag on his way out to work. He smiled happily while I took a picture. I let him get to the door before I mentioned he had forgotten to put pants on. (He was wearing silky Winnie the Pooh boxers. Such a great pic.)
My siblings from 1980. My little sister is surprised about something. 14364820_1...01cc3a.jpg
Years later...her daughter ava-5f6042...3973c6.jpg
