Dread pulling together your family for a photo session? I get that, no one wants to go through it! I have been a photographer for a long time, and I know how to bring out the very happiest faces. Vibrant, relaxed people mean better images… ones you’ll love decades from now. Your experience and getting the photo is my priority. From the minute you walk in the door, my goal is to help you transition from the stress of everyday life to the relaxed fun of the photo session.
Here is something to think about. The photo session starts before you walk into the studio or arrive on location. When getting family photos taken you need to have a plan, what you’re going to wear, poses you’d like, location etc, but being flexible and not set your expectations too high can save the day and help to avoid frustration. Make your next family photo session less about getting the perfect shot and more about the moment, each other and the thought of what memories will be triggered by these photos years down the road.
Letting go of expectations will take a little bit of the pressure off and help everyone to relax and just enjoy the time together as a family. The perfect family photo may not necessarily be the one you envision (most likely it won’t be, trust me). Open your mind, relax, have fun, the photos will reflect a wonderful memory of time spent together. Pro tip – If you are relaxed, your children will be too.
Remember to be silly, play and laugh. Make your family photo session a fun event. Don’t be afraid to bring silly props, think fake mustaches, funky glasses, balloons, or your children’s favorite toys or stuffed animals. Not only do they look cute in photos, props also serve a very useful purpose. They keep little hands busy, fill in time while siblings are being photographed and help to draw out smiles. Whatever you can do to ensure that your photo session is an event to anticipated, not dreaded is going to help make it fun.
Involve the whole family in planning. Ok, that might sound funny, it is family photos after all, but inviting everyone’s input (especially your children’s) as far as clothing choices, poses and other ideas, helps everyone feel like the photo session is a team effort, not just something they are doing because mom and dad said they had to.
Here some helpful things to remember:
- Try to get LOTS of sleep the night before.
- Make sure everyone is fed before coming to the session.
- Explain to your family that this is supposed to be a quick/fun experience and there is absolutely no pressure to be perfect.
- Leave the posing and smiling to me, the photographer, I will make it happen.
- Don’t worry about telling your kids to smile and behave. They usually listen to strangers, so let me do the work.
Lastly, your happiness is guaranteed. If you are not happy with something, tell me and let’s fix it.
