5 Tips for a Successful Family Photo Session
There are few things more emotional than family photos. Whether you're a parent looking for pictures of your kids to put on the mantle, or an aunt wanting to commemorate the first year of your niece's life with a photo session, family sessions can be both exciting and stressful.
To help make sure that everyone has fun at your family session, here are 5 tips for having a successful family photoshoot.
Wear clothing that coordinates with your location, season & theme.
Wearing clothes that coordinate with your location, season and theme will help to make the photo session seem more realistic as if you were documenting a moment in time.
Leading up to a photo session, I help clients coordinate their outfits to work perfectly in the location we’ve chosen. I offer easy tips and trips to follow for complementing each other in group photos! I even encourage families to send me pictures of their outfits for a “second opinion”!
Each client also gets access to an interactive, online, style guide. To use the style guide, you input the number of people in your group, their gender and ages, and what style you’d like the clothes to be. The style guide creates entire outfits for each member of the group with clickable links to purchase each piece!
The most important thing is that you are comfortable during your photo session! Outfit choices that compliment you, your setting, and the season will make you feel confident and that will shine in your photos.
Be ready for spontaneous shots!
ESPECIALLY if you have kids in your group! While I do have a plan for the photo session based on the style of photos you’re looking for and the dynamics of your family, sometimes the plan gets derailed in the best way!
You never know what young kiddos will do during a session. Sometimes they're simply exploring the location we've chosen, making silly faces whenever they feel like it, or even letting loose in EVERY WAY...and yes, we're talking passing gas here folks. Embrace it. To them, it's hilarious and elicits a REAL smile. We'll just blame Dad. ;)
The beautiful thing is that these moments lead to priceless images, so embrace them!
Don’t expect everyone to smile 100% of the time. They won't. And sometimes those moments are magical too.
Real smiles and candid laughs are EVERYTHING.
I KNOW in the "real world" the kids aren't always giggling and mamma is not always getting hugs. But in these sessions, when you're lost in the moment, the love pours out and I get to capture every bit of it!
If you're worried about family sessions 'going well, take it from me.....they won't go perfect! And that is okay!
Sometimes the most beautiful moments are captured between smiles and laughs.
When you book with me, we plan as many details as we can ahead of time so that it can be as easy as possible for you and your loved ones! But I also know that things don't always go according to plan. I am there in those moments to bring everything back together!
Trust your photographer
....I know, it is hard to let loose and totally trust the photographer. But I promise it is worth it!
Whether your session is with me or another photographer, they have experiences that give them the knowledge to create incredible photos for you.
I might ask you to do something totally silly - and you might be hesitant - but I am going to capture the laughing after the silly moments. You might come to the sessions with your own plan of how things should go, but I encourage you to relax into the moment and enjoy it with your family.
I will make sure you have priceless memories!
The biggest tip we have is this: be present.
Family photo sessions are meant to document moments in time! It is so important to be present in these sessions.
When you arrive, I ask you to put all phones in one place and leave them there the entire time. There are few moments in busy lives that families get to completely unplug and spend time together. I encourage you to cherish this time together!
Family photos are a great way to capture memories of your family's growth. You may be stressed about the session, but with these five tips, you'll have everything covered! The most important thing is that everyone in your family has fun at their photo session and feels comfortable in front of the camera - so wear clothing that matches the theme or season, be ready for spontaneous moments, go with the flow, and trust your photographer!
I hope this helped clear up some confusion surrounding what makes for a successful family photoshoot- feel free to contact me anytime if you want help planning yours!
Enjoy the moments!
-Mindy
