How to Survive a Family Photo Shoot 101 (featuring a first birthday session!) | Halifax Photographer
Okay so first of all, I get it. Family shoots can be a nightmare for parents. Kids running around like crazy or just not responding to direction, and just endless anxiety worrying that you’re wasting your time and the photographer’s time!
BTW. A lot of these tips also work for dogs!
That’s why I’m writing this for ya! I totally get being up until 2am the night before super stressed about outfits and every other thing on earth when you know you’ll be having your photo taken. Hopefully this blog will ease that stress! So, here’s a nice little list of tips so that you can be confident that your photos will be like this (instead of stress-filled) :
Stay away from those intense fluorescent and highlighter-like colours. I appreciate a good colourful outfit. They’re SO much fun and they rock if you love wearing them in the real world - but they just don’t photograph the best. Especially in places with lots of green! If there’s a piece of clothing you’re really hung up on trying, shoot me a message/email and I’ll let you know!
Figure out your outfits before dinner the day before and then stop thinking about it! What you wear is important but not important enough to not eat or sleep over! If you want to stay safe, I recommend sticking to earth tones. Below is a palette that kind shows what I mean. Another way to feel safe about how things match is to look up colour palettes on Pinterest! For example, if you have a blue top and want your family to compliment each other without matching (like, the 2000s photoshoots with everyone in jeans and white shirts), look up purple colour palettes and you’ll see what colours look good together! I’ll put a a few palettes here so you can see examples!
3. Eat something before your shoot! (and wear something else while you eat, or at least cover your clothes) This goes without saying, but a hungry person is not a happy person. This isn’t even just about the kids - parents too!
4. Bring distractions for the kids/pets! Bring their favourite book and toys, it’s never too many. If you’re worried about carrying them, don’t worry! I have a huge bag I can stuff them in, or I can carry your bag for you so they aren’t in photos. We can use the toys/books in photos, you can read to them while I photograph them (especially if they’re under 2). And feel free to bring snacks too! Fruit squeeze packs, crackers, raisins, and lots of water/milk!
5. Bring a blanket! They’re great for sitting or cuddling or anything like that!
6. Be open to ideas. Often times, clients come to shoots with a specific photo in mind that they want. With kids though, it’s tough to make ideas happen sometimes because they just won’t do it! We can of course try everything, but I have a “flow posing” method that gets lots of ideas done super quick, which is why I can do things like mini-sessions. Just trust me, I gotchu!
7. Wear shoes you can walk in. With my flow posing, we move around a lot to get lots of different scenery, so it’s best if you can walk in the shoes you choose!
8. Leave the cheese for the crackers! So often, parents stand behind me telling their kids to say “cheese!”. Instead, I will use prompts to get natural giggles out of them! If all else fails, I’ll ask you for your favourite jokes with your kids, that will get more natural faces :)
9. Not everyone needs to be constantly smiling at the camera! You can interact and be yourselves for 90% of the shoot! Those are the photos that will matter most - the photos that show off the connection you have together!
10. Relax!! I’ve got you. I’ve shot families before and know how to make everyone look good - leave your worry at home and trust the process. Everything may feel chaotic, or it could be calm! Don’t expect your family to be too different from how your normal dynamic is. The way I shoot, I like to get the family into general direction and then let people move around and interact to make it the most authentic and real as possible. I’m not about perfection, I’m more about making the REAL as beautiful as it is.
11. Try your best to arrive on location 5-10 minutes early. Don’t worry, I’m not the type to make you start early, you can just hang out in your car! It’s just a good idea to have a minute to sit in your car or even just stretch - especially if you drove for a little while before the shoot! The point is to just have a chance to breathe beforehand and be in the moment. This shoot isn’t just about “getting photos”, it’s also about the memories. When you look at the photos you’ll remember the day, so try your best to really be there!
