Tips for Photo Sessions with Kids
As a mom of two and a former teacher, there’s not much that surprises me anymore about kids. 😉🥰. There are, however, ways parents can set themselves up for the best possibility of a great outcome. As your photographer, it’s my job to make the session fun, but here’s what you can do to prepare and help make the photo session great.
1) Your positive attitude
Without a doubt, your positive attitude is the number one way to make family photos a success. If you make taking photos out to be something grumble-worthy to suffer through, your kids will adopt that attitude, too, and will NOT be on board. I’ve seen it. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Instead, consider up-selling the process days ahead. “We get to take pictures tomorrow!” Promise a great dinner at their favorite restaurant afterwards (I’m looking at you, cheap fast-food!). Turn it into a family date night and have FUN with it.
We’ll spend our time playing and laughing and cuddling and I’ll be able to get some great pictures in the process.
2) Food
Photos with hungry kids will never work out. (Heck, there’s not much of anything that’ll work when kids are hangry!). So, be sure to fill up those kiddos with good, healthy food (no messy chocolate or colored sweets that will dye their mouths!) before photos. If they’re going to snack in the car, consider arriving early to change clothes before we get started. And, again, for older kids, feel free to promise a dinner out at their favorite restaurant after the session - just don’t deny them food beforehand while you wait for dinner. Break the snacking rules this one time. It’ll be okay.
3) Be Comfortable
If your opinionated angel has never worn a bowtie, now may not be the time to start. 😳😆
According to my 8 year old daughter, kids need to be comfortable. She admitted that she herself didn’t have the best attitude for our family pictures because she was focused on her scratchy new dress. Lesson learned for this mama! Test out those outfits well before the day of the session (which also helps to avoid the second mistake I made for my own family photo session: figuring out at the last second that the dress was a solid size or two too big. Oops.🥴).
4) Set your (realistic) expectations
Toddlers will be toddlers, amirite?! Expecting them to act any differently is setting everyone up for failure. If your child is non-stop energy at home, that’s not going to magically change for a photo session. And that’s okay! What’s not okay is having unrealistic expectations. That’ll just leads to tears and frustration — for the kiddos AND for parents.
Letting kids be kids is one thing I love about lifestyle/candid images over posed. Yes, it’s good to try to get that one posed picture where everyone is looking at the camera, but I think it’s truly magical to snap a photo of a real connection with your family. And that’s my goal for every session.
I look forward to working with you for family photo sessions! Remember to just smile, relax, and go with the flow. We’ll have a great time and will capture some great pictures in the process. And, as always, reach out if you have any questions 💕