Welcome and Hello!
How to prepare for
your session!
1. Ask the client to choose their clothing carefully. Have your clothing chosen way in advance and make sure that your outfit choices are comfortable and attractive. What do your dream family photos look like? If they are soft and elegant? Chose neutral colors with soft, flowing fabrics…. think creams, very soft pastels, oatmeal, light browns, tans, grays, and slate blues. Want to showcase the fun and spunky side of your family? Choose coordinating colors (but not matchy, matchy) with bold accent colors, such as hues of gray with yellow or bright red accents. Adding fun accessories like scarves, headbands, hats, etc. can add a modern twist and sassy flair to your images.
2. Recommend that clients be well rested and well fed. Be certain not to schedule your photo session around your child’s nap or bedtime. The best time for lighting is the two hours before sunset and after sunrise. If this is a bad time for your children, talk with your photographer. Good photographers will be able to shoot at any time of day by utilizing areas of open shade that will give your skin a beautiful hue and put a sparkle in your eyes. Don’t show up to a photo shoot on an empty stomach. I meet many families who come to a photo session with dinner scheduled at the end. If this is your plan, be sure to give everyone a healthy snack before the photo shoot.
3. Be sure to leave plenty of time to get ready. Moms are often rushing around before a photo shoot, making sure that their family is dressed and ready. I always encourage mothers to have their hair and makeup professionally done. This will prepare mom for her pictures and when mom is feeling pretty and confident, this will reflect on the rest of the family as well. Leave plenty of time for showers, baths, dressing, and grooming. When a family shows up to a family photo session rushed and disorganized, it sets the tone for a rushed and disorganized session. Give yourself extra time so that you are ready before it’s time to head out that door.
4. Ask the dads to be cheerful participants. Dads, please cheerfully participate. I know that many dads dread the family photo session, but fathers, please understand how important capturing your family is. These images will be left as a legacy, when your children are grown, with families of their own some day. Family photos are treasured forever and they are so important. Please, please, dads… cheerfully participate in your family photo session. Once you see your happy wife and amazing photographs, you will be so glad that you gave this time to your family.
5. Cheese is for crackers. Please, parents… leave the “cheese” at home. Cheese is for crackers. So many times I have found parents who stand behind the photographer and scream, “Say cheese to the lady kids!” Yelling and demanding young children to look at the camera to smile will only stress your children out (not to mention the photographer) and will result in strained, unnatural and often unflattering photographs. Step back, and allow the photographer to naturally interact and talk with your children. This will result in natural, gorgeous smiles. Help the photographer capture the true essence of your child’s personality by talking with and coaxing out those smiles naturally and easily.
6. Have fun with your family. Don’t be afraid to pick up your children and toss them in the air. Give your wife a sweet kiss on the check. Tell your husband how much you love him and appreciate him for being there for your family. Have fun. Laugh. Giggle. Joke. Embrace. Kiss. Snuggle. Play. Doing these things will allow the photographer to capture the emotion and true beauty of your family. Leave the stiff “cheese” faces for Aunt Marge at the next family reunion. Show your photographer who you really are, so that she has the opportunity to capture your love through her lens.
6. Have fun with your family. Don’t be afraid to pick up your children and toss them in the air. Give your wife a sweet kiss on the check. Tell your husband how much you love him and appreciate him for being there for your family. Have fun. Laugh. Giggle. Joke. Embrace. Kiss. Snuggle. Play. Doing these things will allow the photographer to capture the emotion and true beauty of your family. Leave the stiff “cheese” faces for Aunt Marge at the next family reunion. Show your photographer who you really are, so that she has the opportunity to capture your love through her lens.
7. Bring an activity that you enjoy doing together as a family. My most successful family sessions have incorporated an activity that the family loves to do together. This gives you something to do with your hands and feet, engages the little ones, and brings an authentic smile to your face. Do you love to read together? Bring some books. Is your favorite dessert ice cream? Bring some ice cream bars or drumsticks to your session or better yet… hire an ice cream truck to come to your session. Love to play board games or cards? Plan to play a round of Uno or Monopoly during your family photo session. Other ideas include: football, piggy back rides, races, bike riding, hiking, singing, picnics, the ideas are endless. When families are engaged in doing something that they love together, the photographer will have the opportunity to take some beautiful and authentic photographs.
8. Let the clients know that NOT everyone has to be looking and smiling at the camera at the same time. The best photographs are often the ones where everyone is engaged or interacting with each other. Understand that not every picture needs to have everyone looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. If you are engaged as a family and loving on each other, your eyes will be on your family members and your smile with be natural. These are the photographs that you will cherish most because they depict your family connection and your love
HOW TO CHOOSE FAMILY PHOTO OUTFITS
1. Coordinating colors not matching Long gone are the days of everyone wearing a white shirt and matching. You don’t have to have everyone buy a white shirt and jeans. Allow personalities to shine with colors and patterns. Pick a couple of colors and choose clothes that will fit in this color scheme.
2. Look at your home decor. This may seem odd. What does your home decor have to do with family picture outfits? A lot actually. Do you like bright colors? Neutrals? Since you will be hanging these photos in your house you want to make sure the colors of your clothes go with the color scheme of your home. Walk around your home and think about where will you display these photos? If they are going in the living room look at the colors in there. Do you have bright decorative pillows or more of a neutral palette?
3. Don’t forget accessories to go with your family picture outfits. Accessories not only add to your outfit but they can be fun to use in photos. Have the man wear a tie for the woman to hold. Necklaces for the kids to play with or hats to hide behind. Remember the idea is not to create these perfect photos. Family photos are a time to capture who your family is at that time. Most people take family photos in the fall which means there are plenty of accessories you can add. Consider a fun scarf, cute coat, or stylish hat. The possibilities are endless
4. Limit patterns. Personally, I enjoy having an outfit in the mix that has all the colors in it. However, not everyone in the photo should wear patterns as it may distract the final image. Consider picking one outfit for your family photos that has a lot of colors or fun pattern. Choose that outfit first. This gives you plenty of colors to choose from to pick your coordinating colors.
5. Look for clothing collections. When shopping for clothes for kids, head to stores that typically have color coordinating collections. You can then purchase clothes for all the children from one store. Don’t be afraid to lay all the clothes on the floor of the store to see what they will look.
6. Plan ahead for your family photo outfits. Once you book your session, start thinking what to wear for family photos right away. You may think certain clothes will fit your kids or that one dress is clean. If you wait until the day of or day before you may run into an issue of clothes not fitting, being dirty or need to be dry cleaned.
7. Say no to characters. Yes, your little one may love their Toy Story shirt, but you may want to skip it for the family photo session. Just like patterns, characters on shirts can be pretty distracting. Characters, like too many patterns, can make your photo look too busy.
8. Avoid all white or all black clothing. As we mentioned earlier you would rather do coordinating colors than all white. Another reason to avoid white is because it is very easy to blow out parts of your shirt causing it to lose its detail. What I mean by blowing out is the shirt no longer has any of the details it is completely white as if the sun is shining brightly on it. Same can be said with all black, it’s easy to have clipping on black clothing and the detail is lost. With clipping, this is where the black clothes loose the depth and details. Trust me you don’t want this and neither does your photographer.
9. Textures are your friend. I am a huge fan of a cotton fitted shirt. However, in photographs I like to add textures like scarves or belts to add a little more to the image. Don’t shy away from different textures. By adding different textures through the material of your family outfits or your accessories you are adding depth and interest to your photos.
10. Consider your background. If you are taking photos in front of a backdrop, consider what you are wearing. If you are taking photos in outdoors, consider what you are wearing to coincide with the season.
11. Think classic for what to wear in family photos . These photos will be hanging on your walls and treasured for years to come. By choosing simple, classic clothes you will help give your images a timeless feel. Finally, let’s have some fun during your session, so I can truly capture your authentic selves.
Location, Location, Location
Fall Family Picture Outfits
The most popular time of year to get family photos is during the fall. The leaves are changing and the sun is softer. Plus, you need a new family photo for your holiday cards. Something to consider when choosing fall family picture outfits is the tones of the season. Consider choosing outfits with warm earth tones.
Family Lake Picture Outfits
Another popular time to get family photos done is during spring, especially at the lake. Again, you may feel the need to wear matching family outfits like all white shirts but that isn’t ideal. Instead, while at the lake consider wearing cooler tones like blues & greens and even adding in pops of coral.
Family Mountain Picture Outfits
Another popular time to get family photos done is during the Summer, especially in the Mountains or Foothills. Again choose outfits with cool colors like blues & whites and adding in pops of greys or yellows.
Family Holiday Picture Outfits
Coordinate your family’s matching outfits for the Christmas pictures by Pajamas, or the Crazy Ugly Sweaters!
Have fun during your session with Kaleidoscope of Photography! Thank you for choosing me to be your photographer!
