Totally Awkward Family Photos from the '70s

What in the world were we thinking? The '70s was a time of pushing traditionally normal limits. Everything from fashion, political, moral, musical and socially accepted standards were being challenged. At the time, it was all the rage to go out and jump on the bandwagon for the latest craze. Looking back now, however… well, let’s just say that more that a few of us have some regrets. Even more unfortunate is the fact that a lot of it was captured on film for all of eternity.

It could be safely said that every family has that “one” relative; we all know what that means. No family is perfect, and those imperfections are all the more obvious when they are captured by the camera. That’s right… the camera doesn’t lie! Below you will see some of the craziest and awkward family photos from the groovy era.
A picture is said to be worth a thousand words. Well, in the case of some of the pictures shown below, all the words in the world couldn’t begin to explain or make sense of what you see. It’s almost a toss-up between the bad hair and clothing choices to the subject matter and what people thought would be nice to commemorate.
It’s hard enough to get the entire family together on the same date, at the same time and in the same place to take a family photo. Couple that with the challenge of making sure everyone is thinking clearly, on their best behavior and a willing participant and the fact that each person has their own idea of what they want to exude for the camera. Sometimes families get out of sync on these fronts and well…
That’s right… these pictures seem to reach an entirely new level of awkwardness!

This is a family photo from the groovy era that is a classic example of a good thought gone bad.

Talk about awkward… 2 of these family members are wearing heavy, outside coats and... that is an opossum… in the family photo!

And you thought your family portraits were awkward? The 3 are in a close race for the MOST awkward!

It’s a little difficult to pick out where the hair stops (Mom & Dad) and the background begins. I think the groovy era let this family down...

The only thing more awkward than the accordion in this family photo is possibly the family chicken!

Honesty has always been the best policy. This little girl was definitely being honest about how she felt about being in this family photo and Dad is a close 2nd… SORRY, Mom... awkward!
Years ago, we didn’t have the luxury of the digital photo to decide if we wanted a retake. We proudly posed and waited for the film to be developed only to find out that, well… we may have missed the mark. The only problem is that while we want to forget, we can’t! Even if the photo gets stored away for safe keeping, it usually rears its ugly head at some point.

Many people consider their pets a part of the family but there are just no words for this family photo!

Although this is an awkward photo, it probably captured the true essence of this family dynamic! I must say that I am sure they are not alone; just unlucky enough to be caught on camera.

The hair… oh the hair, ladies! No worries though, Dude looks like a proud peacock… even without any hair!

If this isn’t just the happiest family photo, I don’t know what is. The funny thing is that this photo may even have made it to their friends and family on a holiday card! Unfortunately, if that was the case, it will potentially be around for many years to come.
These pictures don’t even scratch the surface of the awkward family photos floating around out there. Don’t be too quick to judge, though, because I’m sure you have some of your own!