How to Take 4-Cut Photos with Family While Abroad for Thanksgiving

2026-10-28 · The Hanaduul team

If you're studying abroad, working overseas, or just can't fly home this Thanksgiving, you don't have to miss out on the family photo strip. Hanaduul's Shoot together feature lets you and someone back home each use your own phone to make one photo strip together, in real time, no matter the time zone.

A Thanksgiving Photo With Family, No Matter the Distance

Missing Thanksgiving dinner is hard enough without missing the family photo too. Hanaduul's Shoot together feature is built exactly for this — two phones, two different places, one shared photo strip.

You and a parent, sibling, or anyone else in your family open the app at the same time, land on the same background, and take a four-shot strip together just like you would standing side by side.

How Shoot Together Works

Starting a session only takes a minute once you both know what to do. One of you sets it up, the other joins with a simple code.

• On [Home], tap [Shoot together] to get a 6-digit room code.
• Text or call your family member that code so they can tap [Join with room code] on their end and type it in.
• If you've already connected as friends in the app, skip the code — use [Invite a friend] instead, and they just tap [Join] when it pops up on their phone.
• Once you're both in, you'll see each other side by side on the same background, ready to shoot.

Finding a Time Zone That Works for Both of You

The trickiest part isn't the app, it's the clock. Before you open Hanaduul, send a quick message back and forth to agree on a time that actually works for both of you — maybe right before your family sits down to Thanksgiving dinner, or right after your own classes or work end for the day.

Treat it like a tiny scheduled call. A quick heads up, like asking "can you hop on at 7pm your time?", saves you from one person waiting around while the other is asleep or stuck in traffic.

Talking Through the Countdown to Match Your Poses

Since you're on separate phones, it helps to also be on a call or video chat together while you shoot — even a quick video call on the side works fine. That way you can talk each other into position in real time.

Simple cues make a big difference:

• "A little to the left!"
• "Lean in closer to the camera!"
• "Okay, hands up on three!"
• "Three, two, one — smile!"

Picking a Cozy, Thanksgiving-Ready Background

Instead of settling for a generic background, you can describe exactly the scene you want. In [My BGs] during your shoot setup, tap [Make your own background] and type a short description — it only takes about 15 to 30 seconds to generate.

A formula that works well is place, plus time or weather, plus mood or color. For a Thanksgiving feel, try something like "cozy living room, golden afternoon light, autumn colors" or "farmhouse kitchen, warm candlelight, pumpkins on the table." Short prompts work too, so don't overthink it.

One thing to know: faces and people aren't part of the generated background, since your own photo goes on top of it. There's also a daily limit on how many backgrounds can be made, so if you want something specific for your call, it helps to make it ahead of time rather than right before you shoot.

Your Photo Lands in Both of Your Together Albums

Once you finish the strip, it automatically saves to the [Together] tab in your album — and it shows up in your family member's [Together] tab too, since you both made it in the same session.

That means even with an ocean or a few states between you, you'll both have the same keepsake from this Thanksgiving. And this isn't just for students abroad — it works just as well for a sibling stationed overseas, a parent on a work assignment, or any family member who can't make it home this year.