1. Dress Mama first. Yep, that's right, BE selfish and pick out your outfit first! If you're trying to find everyone's outfits at the same time that will get incredibly overwhelming. So start with you, find something you feel really good in and plan out the rest of your family's colors around yours. Or, if this is a special photo shoot for one of your kids, then find their special outfit first and plan accordingly.
2. Layout everyone's outfits the night before on your bed. This is seriously the only way to make sure you're going to like how everything works together. Lay Dad's and Mom's clothes next to each other and the kid's clothes over the bottom half of Mom & Dad's (the level they would be in an actual picture) to make sure everything flows. You can have the perfect color combo but realize that some tops and bottoms shouldn't be right next to each other, so maybe Dad avoids holding that child if that's the case, or you change a top or bottom. This leads perfectly into our next tip which is:
3. Don't pick all the same color tops or all the same color bottoms. For example, Dad is wearing a burgundy sweater and black pants. That means brother should NOT be wearing a burgundy top and black pants. BUT, brother could wear a black top with burgundy pants. That way if Dad is holding brother, their colors don't run into each other and you can still tell who is who in the photo. Also, don't be afraid to mix patterns and fabrics, you SHOULD. This helps each individual to stand out and is more pleasing to the eye. In our pictures Della's dress ties us all together. She has a bit of red like me, a bit of green like Everett's shirt and Aaron's tie, and black for the rest of our outfits.
4. Bring a toy. Depending on your child's age it might be super helpful to bring a bright colored toy to help get their attention. This is something you should clear with your photographer first, but most of them will be just fine with it if it will help your child look at the camera and smile! This is totally age dependent. For example, this might work great for a 10 month old, but my 2 year old might possibly lose her might if we brought her favorite toy and didn't let her actually hold it. SO, you know your kids, if you think there's any chance this will cause a meltdown then it's best to skip it.
5. Prep your kiddos. As a rookie at family photos I just thought "I'll get everyone dressed, we'll smile, take a bunch of pictures and be done!" Yeah, that didn't work out so well. My 4 year old doesn't love pictures, so each year as he's realized what we're about to go do, he needs a little more incentive than just "SAY CHEESE!" This is completely dependent on your family and your style of parenting. For my kids, I might tell them we'll get ice cream afterwards or pick out one toy at the dollar store. Something simple, but it works like a charm. If we're all exhausted but need just one more picture, it comes in really handy to remind them of their reward afterward. But mainly, the most helpful part of this I think, is sitting them down beforehand and explaining the process and that you need their help to get the pictures taken as quickly as possibly. An explanation of why we take family pictures in the first place might also be helpful depending on your child's age. You're 3 month old probably won't understand or care, hah.
6. Time of day totally matters. Your photographer is probably already all over this because they have to worry about light and all that fun stuff. But, you need to be aware that you know your kids and when their "happier" times of the day are. If your child takes awhile to wake up, then morning pictures probably aren't your best bet. On the contrary, my kids wake up super happy but after naps they are almost always cranky, so that's a time I definitely avoid if possible.
7. Try to have fun! At the end of the day you might not get the "perfect" shot, but the real reason behind taking family photos should be having priceless memories of your family in each stage of life. Enjoy the process! For instance, my favorite shot is below. I wanted to try to create the classic Beatles photo (much too ambitious for kids, but live and learn, right?) and we got some hilarious photos out of it! This photo shows perfectly our silly family, and my husband and I shared some really good laughs looking at them. I mean, how cute is Della trying SO hard?! I'm so glad we have them!
I hope these tips were helpful & that your next family photo session is easy breezy and stress free!
No comments:
Post a Comment