A few tips and tricks to help your photo session go smoothly.
Contact your photographer, and set up a date and time for your family portrait session. The earlier you can book this, the better.
A few days before, I will contact you and set up exact time and place to meet.
Decide on the style of shoot you want & let your photographer know if there are any specific poses you’d like to incorporate.
Let your photographer know what you want to remember about this stage in your life.
Choose a location;
Decide if you want your pictures in a field, trees, mountains, water or the city.
Start gathering props (ie. Bowties, suspenders, hats, flower headbands, scarves) that you want to use and decide what everyone is going to wear.
Wardrobe tip* Dress for the weather, wear clothes that fit (avoid bulky sweaters, they’ll just make you look larger than you are), focus on timeless pieces.
I suggest that mom picks what she will wear first, and then coordinate kids and dad around her. Mom’s outfit will most likely determine the style of the shoot: A floral dress would be a little more dressed up, skinny jeans with ankle boots will be more casual.
Don’t be too matchy matchy. Include a few different prints; stripes, polka dots, buffalo check or floral.
If you’re having a hard time deciding what to wear, view my insta highlight linked below for some inspiration and online stores with good clothing options.
Choose a color scheme to help narrow things down. Stick to colors that looks good on you or will match with the colors in your home. Include a few pops of color, but keep it mostly neutral. Stick to earth tones; Instead of Orange, choose rust. Instead of red, choose burgundy. Instead of pink, wear mauve.
*If mustard and olive green are in for the season, but you look terrible in those colors, DON’T DO IT.
No graphics, logos, flip flops, baseball hats, or neon.
If you’re still stumped on what to wear, let me know and I’ll help you strategize!
www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17863725907725268/
I personally love it when mom is wearing a dress for family pictures. Here are a few websites with some great options; https://balticborn.com/ https://www.petallush.com/dresses/ www.modbuffy.com www.modestpop.com/collections/dresses
Day of- EAT, NAP, BRIBE (dad & kids)
*Definitely set up rewards for good behavior.
It could be going out for a family dinner after the session, or going to target to pick out a toy, or even going for ice cream. If you’re going to bring bribes along, choose small candy over chocolate.
Because the camera shows everything; Ensure everyone has gone the extra mile to get ready.
Spend extra time on hair and make up. Make sure nails are done (kids too), teeth are flossed, legs are shaved. Use extra gel/hairspray for the boys and girls’ fly aways. I prefer no spray tans.
I always get the shot of everyone smiling and looking, but then your job is to help me create more candid shots by interacting playfully with your children. Laugh, play, tickle, and snuggle. This is how we’ll capture the REAL moments. Not everyone has to be looking at the camera in every picture.
When in doubt, just smile and look at your family lovingly. Stand close together. Actually, as close as possible.
Allow me to lead the session with posing prompts and direction.
Let me lead the session to capture smiles, you just focus on you.
Finally, HAVE FUN! Family pictures aren’t meant to be an hour of torture for everyone.
Remember, our goal is to have cheerful participants- stay happy, if we don’t capture a perfect “cheese”, we will capture a loving, happy family with natural interactions and authentic expressions.
Don’t worry so much about the end result, just enjoy the experience, slow down, and don’t force anything.
