More often than not, the standard family photo is staged to the point of soullessness. You know: white smiles, matching polos, sunny backdrops, maybe a well-behaved dog or two. Look!, these photos say. Everyone's so perfect and so happy!
But every now and then, a decades-old family photo rears its head—one that clearly bucked the traditional staging in favor of a more...honest portrayal. The result? Photos that are raw, real, and, frankly, strange. And we don't just mean slightly strange! We're talking clowns-on-Christmas, goth-kids-on-a-beach, Buster-and-Lucille-Bluth-level strange. So strange, in fact, that you can't help but laugh. For proof, we've rounded up the 17 funniest here. And for more easy humor, check out these 30 Office-Friendly Jokes That Are Actually Funny.
1 | Nose Goes
"My mom got her nose does two days before family pictures," the caption for this photo reads. "Sears told my mom there would be a fee if we rescheduled [our] family photos, so we decided to go anyways."
Image via Instagram/Awkward Family Photos
2 | First Kiss
Everyone has to have their first kiss sometime—we're just grateful that these kids chose to do so while the camera was watching. It almost deserves a spot among the 30 Most Iconic Kisses of All Time.
Image via Instagram
3 | Drink Up!
In their defense, most kids drank alcohol back in the day—though most of them weren't caught on camera.
Image via Instagram
4 | Puppet Play
So the cat can be in the photo, but dad can't? Okay.
Image via Instagram
5 | Circus Act
There is perhaps no good way to explain what is happening in this photo—unless this family happens to be famous circus performers.
Image via Instagram
6 | You Used to Call Me
This family was clearly way ahead of its time with their brick-sized cell phones. Who does the toddler even have to call? Her friends don't have phones! And if you want to see some other gadgets lost to history, check out these 20 Once-Useful Technologies You Never See Anymore.
Image via Instagram
7 | Raising the Bar
This looks like a vintage ad for certain cell phone company.
Image via Awkward Family Photos
8 | Like Mother, Like...
Presenting: a shot straight out of Balboa Bay Window Magazine (though this curlicued duo has nothing on Lucille and Buster). And for more amazing Arrested Development laughs, check out The 50 Funniest Jokes From Arrested Development.
Image via Instagram
9 | Bowling with the Homies
Let's all take a second to collectively appreciate the fact that bowl cuts are no longer a thing.
Image via Instagram/Awkward Family Photos
10 | Striking Matches
So much for "a match made in heaven."
Image via Instagram
11 | Doggie Drama
It's hard enough to get the kids to cooperate for a family photo, but throw the animals into the mix, and you're begging for disaster. Look to Reddit user @Sir_Charge's photo as a cautionary tale. "My parents had some photographer come over to shoot us kids," he explains. "He thought it would be a cute idea to get a group shot of me and my siblings on the staircase with our adorable pups. Little did he know that they go crazy when they make eye contact with each other... well, they did."
Image via Reddit
13 | Silly Faces
Even vintage cameras were able to catch candids like the ones we know and love today. Take, for instance, the unanticipated photo above, in which the rest of the family is smiling and baby Brittany is having none of it.
Image via Instagram
14 | Wrong Holiday
"Not sure what happened in my childhood," Instagram user @asiseeitnj wrote. Well, either someone dressed like Santa for Halloween, or those clowns in the background don't quite understand the spirit of Christmas.
Image via Instagram
15 | Clowning Around
One is not like the other...
Image via Imgur
16 | Jeans, Jeans, Everywhere
This family was rocking the Canadian Tuxedo well before Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears ever did.
Image via Instagram
17 | Chicken Little
Just a girl and her... chicken? And, of course, her smokes. At least whoever this is can use this photo to segue into the 40 Funniest Jokes About Animals.
Image via Instagram
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