You are excited to book a photographer. You are crazy excited to get those beautiful portraits of your family. You’re beyond excited to get those prints back to hang on your wall. Then you start to realize … it’s coming soon. And you have no idea how you are going to survive!
You’ve seen beautiful, happy, smiling photos of other families and their kids, and think “That will never be us!”. I’m here to tell you — it *will* be you *if* you follow a few simple steps that lead to success!
TRUST YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER
Straight out of the gate, this is your first step, full stop. From the moment you arrive at the location, let your photographer take the lead. Let her guide you and the kids into natural poses. Let her grab the children’s attention. Let her follow the kids when they start to run. Those make great shots! Trust that she is a pro, and knows how to handle it. Let her make the children laugh, to get real, authentic emotions from them.
TIME IT RIGHT
This starts from the night before the shoot. Have outfits laid out ready, no morning rush. Have kids sleep and wake up on time (no oversleeping!). Have a timely breakfast and lunch, with snacks, to keep the crankiness away. Keep everything normal, so they’re less likely to skip naps. And make sure your photoshoot is scheduled for when the kids are at their happiest – not hungry or tired
ABOUT THOSE SNACKS
Be *very* careful when it comes to snacks and bribes. Do not start out immediately bribing your child with candy or promises of fun later. Let the photographer use her tricks and talent, and save the bribes for truly desperate moments. Your photographer will let you know when it’s time to pull out the big guns. And make sure those snacks don’t leave stains and crumbs – sugar free gummy bears and pretzels are better choices than cheesy crackers and ice cream.
KEEP CLOTHING AND PROPS SIMPLE
You don’t need a lot of props to make a family photoshoot special and unique. In fact, less is definitely better and will look less dated as time goes by. Pick something special to your family, like an heirloom blanket, and ditch the moustaches-on-a-stick/theme-outfits/insert-trend-here for more authentic photos of you as you are. Coordinate your outfits into a colour family (think shades of blue and purple, or everyone in neutrals) instead of matching outfits for everyone.
BE OKAY WITH LESS THAN THEIR BEST BEHAVIOUR
For many parents, the end goal of the session is the frame worthy shot of the family, and children, smiling happily into the camera while everyone hugs in bliss. It’s a gorgeous shot. But it’s not the only, or even the *best* shot, of your family. If the happy posed shot isn’t happening, just let it go. Embrace the beauty of the unposed shots. It’s far better to have happy shots of everyone running or walking together, than stress out the fam and get miserable shots of everyone staring glumly into the camera. This is about YOU too. Just have fun with it, and we’ll naturally get great shots!
Are you looking for a family photographer in the Woodlands, Spring, Oak Ridge or Conroe area?Please email me directly with this CONTACT FORM.
To learn more about full sessions CLICK HERE for session info and click to see my FAMILY PORTRAIT and CHILDREN galleries.