50 ‘Awkward Family Photos’ Shared By People Who Cringe At Them To This Day (New Pics)

Bored Panda got in touch with co-founder Mike again to get his take on a few more things. Meanwhile, we also interviewed professional photographer Dominic Sberna. Check out what both of them told us, Pandas!

Mike, the co-founder of Awkward Family Photos gave some advice on how best to achieve that great sense of embarrassment and awkwardness that'll echo through the decades.

"Well, as you know, we celebrate the awkward photos, not the normal photos... so we prefer that photographers make people uncomfortable," he suggested that anyone feeling comfortable in front of the camera isn't as interesting as someone oozing with character because of how unique they look in the frame.

"And here's how they can do that—put them in strange poses, make them stare at one another, submerge them in water, or position them in front of a dog that is relieving itself in the background," Mike joked, though those really are great ways to turn the awkwardness dial to the max.

According to Mike, the secret to an unnatural smile in photos is "a smile that says, 'I love my family,' when in reality, you want to strangle them."

He told Bored Panda that the secret behind the AFP project's long-lived success truly is its relatability.

"I think AFP has been successful because everyone shares uncomfortable moments with their families. It's universal, no matter where you live or what language you speak," Mike said that these photos go deeper than language and culture, hinting at what makes us all human.

Meanwhile, pro photographer Dominic shared his thoughts with us about how the person behind the camera might go about building a sense of trust with those they're taking a picture of.

"Building trust comes by way of making someone feel comfortable," he explained to Bored Panda.

"To do that, you have to be outgoing and make sure that the person(s) you're photographing are free to be themselves. It will make for genuine images that they'll love for a lifetime," he shared.

According to the expert, one of the best things that you can do to make the photographer's job easier is to be genuine. It also works for pretty much every other area in life, too.

"Just be yourself. This is also advice for life. Just be free and be yourself. You've paid someone (in most cases) to take your photo and you want to like the results," Dominic told Bored Panda.