With fall weather comes fall family photos and I am looking forward to all of the sessions that are already filling up my schedule! I do find that while family photo sessions are so much fun for me, sometimes they can be stressful for my clients: trying to find a date that everyone is available, coordinating outfits, getting the whole family ready and to the session on time, worrying about if little ones are cooperating or if those teens (or dad’s😉 ) are smiling for the camera. Since I just recently wrote a “Picture Perfect” Senior post and previously wrote one for weddings, I thought it was a great time to write one for family sessions and hopefully relieve some of that stress and leave you with not only wonderful images but also some great memories from your family session. I’m kind of focusing on fall since it’s that time of year (and my favorite time for family sessions) but these tips will work any time of the year.
The First (and Only) Rule:
Relax and ENJOY your sessions. Seriously, this is an actual rule of mine. If you are happy and having fun it will show in your images. If you are stressed and worrying about every little thing…that will show too. Because family photos usually involve several people, and many of them are little and have short attention spans, it’s highly possible that not everyone is going to have the same plan of posing perfectly and smiling for the camera in every shot that you may have. I have had so many sessions where parents feel like their children aren’t cooperating or smiling or posing right and they yell at them or scold them. Trust me, I get it. I’m a parent too and it can be frustrating when you feel like they just aren’t listening to what you want them to do. But the result of this is fake smiles (sometimes through tears) and not so great memories that might come back every time you look at that family photo. Plus when parents are trying to direct their kids either the kids end up looking at the parents instead of the photographer, or if they do actually give me a great smile, the parents are busy talking in the photo. My advice to my clients: Don’t parent at your session. Let me be in charge of that. Just keep smiling and looking at the camera and I will do my best to get everyone else to look photogenic. Keep in mind it might not look how you pictured in your mind or like those perfectly posed family photos pinned to your Pinterest Board, but that’s a good thing. It’s more important that your photos are YOURS and that everyone is HAPPY!
Change your Perception of Perfection:
Ok, so the whole “not parenting” thing sounds great. But what if your toddler keeps running off and either the parent or photographer has to go after them? What if the baby won’t stop crying or your teenager refuses to show teeth because they don’t like their braces? What if you realize someone made it out of the house in those ugly shoes that you hate? There are ways to make it work. Break into candid mode, kick off those shoes, and have some fun. Sometimes you just have to change your perception of perfection and realize that perfection might not be everyone posed perfectly and smiling directly at the camera, but it might instead come in those images that will make you remember exactly how real life was when the photo was taken.
What to Wear:
I firmly believe this is the one thing clients spend way too much time stressing about. Keep it simple. Choose outfits that compliment each other but don’t necessarily have to exactly match. Plaids and patterns are great, but make sure some people in your group are wearing solids so it doesn’t get too busy. Make sure everyone is comfortable and that clothes don’t get messy looking easily so that people aren’t having to straighten and tidy up with each new pose. Use accessories to tie everyone’s outfits together (like mom’s necklace in the first example above). Also consider what you will be doing with these photos. If you want a large print to hang over the fireplace choose colors that will look good in that room. If you are doing fall photos, but thinking of also using them on Christmas cards, think about adding some red to the photos so they will have a touch of “Christmas” and coordinate with your card even though they may not look “wintery”.
Hopefully these tips help with your upcoming family photos session. Now go drink something pumpkin spiced, light that fall-scented Bath and Body Works candle, and call your local photographer (obviously ME if you are in the Kansas City area) to schedule your session!
