Your Family Session

It’s time for your family session! During the session I like to focus on making it a fun experience for the whole family. Your kids will get an opportunity to run around, jump in the air, take silly photos, and just in general have a lot of fun! I’ll list a few helpful tips below to try to get the best candid photos of your kids.

What should I wear?

This is the most common question I get from clients. Here are some helpful do’s and don’t for what to wear for your family session.

Don’ts

  1. Try to avoid WORDS/BRANDS/LOGOS. They can be distracting and take the focus away from your family.

  2. NOTHING TOO FORMAL.

    Most sessions I have with families are fun, relaxed, and laid back. We’re often shooting at a local park or in their backyard where it just wouldn’t make sense to have high heels or a tailored blazer. If you do prefer a more formal look, make sure your location and session’s vibe complements your attire.

  3. ABSOLUTELY NO NEON or EXTREMELY BRIGHT COLORS

    While neon colors are fun to rock on a day to day basis, when it comes to portrait photography they are not your friend. Neon colors tend to reflect on the skin giving it a yellowish or pinkish hue. Best to avoid those colors when picking out your wardrobe for the session.

Do’s

  1. ROCK THE NEUTRALS.

    Start off by piecing together everyone’s wardrobe by mixing in all the neutrals – white, black, gray, navy, khaki, tan, brown, blue jeans

  2. COORDINATE AND COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER.

    Once you’ve maxed out your neutrals you will only need to add a color or two to complete everyone’s look. Better yet, pick one color and work within that color family.

  3. BLUE IS YOUR FRIEND.

    Blue is one of the rare colors that pretty much everyone looks good in and all shades of it work well together.

  4. BE COMFORTABLE.

    The last thing you want for your family session is to be uncomfortable! F.or parents and kids alike, make sure you can easily move, sit, snuggle and play in whatever outfit you choose.

  5. KEEP THE PATTERNS LIMITED.

    Patterns are fun to incorporate into your family session. I recommend limiting to one or two patterned outfits per group of people.

  6. TIPS FOR LARGE FAMILIES.

    • If we’re planning for a session with a large number of different families, it can be near impossible for everyone to coordinate. In this case, my suggestion is to pass along the guideline of sticking with the neutrals + blue. It’s a foolproof plan!

    And remember, these aren’t rules on what to wear to your family session. They’re more helpful guidelines to make the process of getting everyone dressed that much easier!

A Few More Fun Tips…

Bring Props and Toys!

If your child plays baseball, feel free to bring some mitts and a ball to throw around during the session. Bubbles are another fun prop to bring to the session. Most of the time if the prop can be messy, like bubbles, I’ll save it for the end of the session. We’ll get some photos of them playing after we get all the key shots.

Avoiding Hungry Melt Downs

Let’s face it, we all get a little cranky when we’re hungry. My suggestion to keep the hangry melt downs at bay during the session is to eat a filling snack or dinner before the session. If your child is especially prone to hangry episodes feel free to bring a snack to the session. There is almost always a good time to take a snack break.

Trust your photographer

Try your best not to tell your kids to “smile” or force good behavior. Understandably, this is a hard task to accomplish especially if your child(ren) is feeling a little moody on the day of the session. As a former nanny and the oldest of 8 children, I have lots of little tricks to get your child smiling so trust me as much as you can.