Tips to rock your next family photoshoot!

Today’s the day! You’ve spent time planning matching outfits for your whole family, you’ve spent countless hours on Pinterest and Instagram trying find the exact vibe you want to bring to your own session, and you’ve likely shelled out a pretty penny for a great photographer to capture your family in their best light! You want everything to go smoothly and you’re praying to whatever being or universal entity you believe in that your little one will just smile at the camera, just this once, and you'll never ask again!

I’ve compiled a list of helpful tips for all the parents out there that will ensure you absolutely ace your upcoming photoshoot and experience as few tears as possible (because spoiler alert, no matter how much you plan and prepare, someone will probably cry — but we’ll get to that later).

1. Acclimate. In the few days or weeks leading up to your session, do what you can to get your little ones comfortable being in front of a camera. Whether that means snapping a few extra shots of them before you head out to work, or they head off to school, or if you want to try your own practice photoshoot with them so they don’t see a camera and automatically become shy or uninterested. If it turns out that “shy” or “uninterested” are the only responses you get when you try to take photos of your kids, this information is invaluable to your photographer. We want to know that your kid freaks out whenever he sees a camera, or that they clam up and suddenly stop being blissful and carefree when a camera is introduced to a situation. Your photographer will have ways to deal with these situations, but if you are aware that this may be the case beforehand, it will be much easier for the photographer to gauge where your kids are at and not add any extra stress to your kids plates.

2. Dress properly. Please do not read that as “dress in formalwear”. If your family is used to going to high end functions together and wearing outfits that are appropriate for such occasions, then that is awesome and by all means, bring your tuxedo and evening gown dressed selves and let’s get this session underway! But if that’s just not you, that is totally okay! Social media is so weird! We see other peoples’ photos and think that in order to have a successful session we have to dress a certain way, or look a certain way, but let me tell you, that is not the case. The best photos you will have of your family are the ones where you’re all comfortable and feel like yourselves! If that includes dresses and slacks, awesome! If that means you’re all wearing pajamas, great! You know your family better than anyone else, so you know what they should all be wearing. My advice, don’t buy a new outfit for your photoshoot without letting your kiddo (or yourself!) wear it around and try to reach up to the sky, or to wrap their arms around someone else, or sit, or roll around in it (hey, it can always be washed!). Why? Because photoshoots these days very rarely consist of rigid, seated poses. Some may, and that’s cool, but more and more photographers are branching out and trying to capture the true essence of moments, candids of your family interacting, laughing, loving. More often than not, that will include all of the things I mentioned above. Also know that you can match without matching. What does that even mean? Well, you can choose a central color and have it weave through each person’s outfit, but you don’t all have to wear the same thing, unless that is the look you are going for! I would only suggest not mixing and matching too many patterns, in other words, less is more. All in all, if you have an instinct about how your family should be dressed for your photoshoot, it’s not wrong!

3. Nap time? This is a big one if you have little ones. I get asked a lot before photoshoots that include littles when the best time to allow them to nap would be. My first piece of advice is always, “you know your kid better than anyone else, so make sure they are taken care of.” With that in mind, your photographer will often suggest a session time that is based on the lighting outside and what would be best to work in. If that time won’t work along with nap time, speak up! Your photographer wants you to get the best photos possible, we’re not going to get upset, for example, if we suggest an 8:30-9:30 am session and you say that 8:30 is nap time. Photographers will rearrange, we will find a different time that works, or if you want to chance it, there are other things you can do to ensure everyone makes it through the session as happily as possible. For starters, if nap time occurs on your way to the session, try to get there a little early so your kiddo has time to wake up and stretch and get accustomed to a place they’re not used to waking up in. Waking up somewhere unfamiliar can be upsetting for some kids and is a good way to ensure they aren’t happy through most of the session.

4. Bribes. Whether your parenting style calls for bribes or not is your business, but in my business, bribes are a photoshoot saver. I’ve had parents bring little treats and give their kids one after every few photos or while walking from location to location, I’ve had parents promise a toy store trip if they cooperate through the session. Whatever works for your kid on a normal day, will likely work during a photoshoot day. I’m sure some of you are reading this like, “Great idea, force my kid to sit down and smile for photos while giving them candy after each photo so they're hopped up on sugar on the way home.” Ah but that’s where you’d be incorrect, first of all, not only can you bribe them with treats other than candy (for example, a mom once brought bubbles and her little was all smiles!), you can also be sure that your photographer will do their best to allow your kids to run off some energy while still getting great shots and capturing their personalities.

5. Attention Grabbers. I cannot stress enough how great it is when parents bring a toy specific to however many children will require a distraction of sorts. Not only am I completely fine with you sitting the toy on top of my head and telling your kid to look at it, but it’s a great comfort tool if they’re just not feeling it. Attention grabbers don't always have to be toys or physical items at all. One of my favorite memories from a photoshoot with a little one is when her Grandma (shout out Terri Z!) kept saying her name in a silly manner over and over. It was GENIUS and I wanted her to accompany me on all my photoshoots after that! I’ve found that anytime you can make a silly noise or face, it will draw out more genuine smiles than the standard, “say cheese!” Give it a try. Now earlier in this post, I talked about how despite your best efforts, sometimes, kids just don’t want to be photographed on a particular day. Crying happens. Maybe it’s the camera itself, maybe it’s the introduction of a new person (your photographer), maybe it’s hot out, cold out, or they don’t want to sit and smile, maybe it’s a culmination of everything or maybe it’s something else entirely. Whatever it is, you need to know; it is not your fault! Please don’t apologize for your kid crying. Your photographer will understand, you are not wasting our time, and while I can’t speak directly for other photographers, if I don't have another session right after yours, I will allot some extra time when your kiddo calms down so you get what you paid for.

6. Avoid Social Media. Okay maybe that’s a bit drastic. Don’t avoid social media, but try to limit your Pinteresting, and keep the Insta Feed stalking of your favorite influencer family to a minimum. Instead, stalk your photographer! Go through their website, and Instagram posts that are related to your upcoming photoshoot, read their blog if they have one. This will give you a good idea of what to expect from them (because not every photographer is going to recreate every photo you find on social media), it’ll help you visualize what your photos are going to look like, and their blog may contain nuggets of wisdom that are helpful to know when working with them! I don’t think I’ve ever worked with a client that didn’t come with inspiration they found on Pinterest that they adored and wanted work from. I personally have no problem with this, some photographers may prefer that you don’t, it’ll just depend on who you work with. But what I can say is that while it’s great to use those things as stepping stones to achieving nice photos of your own, try not to get too hung up on what worked during someone else’s photoshoot because you never know what goes on behind the scenes to make those things come to fruition.

What can we take away from this? Trust your gut, you know your family better than anyone else, even if your photographer happens to be a family friend or someone you’ve worked with before, you still know what’s best for them! At the end of the day, your photographer is going to work so hard to ensure you are not only a satisfied client, but that you trust them with future photoshoots anytime you have a special occasion that calls for one! So read this list, take what makes sense for your family and apply it before your next photoshoot! And above all else, just remember that silly noises will draw out cuter smiles than “say cheese” ever will!

I hope there was something in here for you to take away! If you feel so inclined, please leave me a like! (And if you feel extra inclined, a tip is always appreciated!)

Let's connect on social media!

Website: www.rjlennonphotography.com

Instagram:

• @rjlennonphotography (portraits)
• @themainstreetdreamer (Disney content)
• @honestwolfmedia (landscapes)