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So, I recently hired a photographer for the FIRST time to do our family portraits! Yep, first time! I never wanted to be in the pics but decided that after years of telling moms to JUST GET IN THE PICTURES I figured it was time I took my own advice.
Planning for our session totally stressed me out. I think I was nervous about being on the other side of the camera and worried about everything working out. It got me thinking that maybe some of my clients feel the same way!
With this experience in mind I wrote this blog post. It’s a bit wordy but might be helpful if you are like me and STRESS about your session!
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Congratulations on booking your professional family portrait session! What a gift you are giving your family!!
Now that you booked it you probably have a million things going through your head. What will we wear? Will the kids get sick? Will they behave? Will I look good. Will my husband hate it and not want to participate? Will the weather cooperate? Will ………..?????? UGH! Why did I sign up for this?? STOP and BREATH AND THINK. Fast forward 20 years, kids are grown and their childhood seems like a distant memory. Snap shots are great BUT you are not in most of them AND they just don’t compare to professional images! The images your photographer creates will be your greatest treasures! YOU will thank yourself for this! I promise!
So, how do we make this session a success? I’ve seen stress ruin a session with Mom and dad yelling at the kids, not the memories you want! So the MOST IMPORTANT tip that I have for a SUCCESSFUL family session is about being mentally prepared! It is KEY for MOM and DAD to come to the session with a POSITIVE ATTITUDE and a SMILE! We want to make it Fun for the kids so we can get natural smiles.
Try to LEAVE BEHIND all the pre-session worries I talked about. When you arrive try to put all of that aside and JUST ENJOY the TIME WITH YOUR CHILDREN!! Enjoy them for WHO THEY ARE at that moment!
Keep in mind that children are unpredictable so it is important to have REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS! One thing I can guarantee is that you can not predict exactly how the session will go! The “shy one” might suddenly come out of their shell and the “happy one” might be having a bad day.If you have high expectations of perfect behavior and perfect smiles on command, you are bound to get stressed out and the kids will react to that and give you the opposite of what you wanted!
So be prepared to go with the flow BUT also think about some ideas of how to get the best out of your children! What makes them laugh? Do they love it when you tickle them, toss them in the air, tell them silly jokes, do funny dances or make funny noises? My assistant and I have some tricks up our sleeves but you know them best so don’t be afraid to contribute!
I say all of this from experience (photographing HUNDREDS of families AND as a MOM)! Being mom AND photographer is always my most challenging roll! I have all the patience in the world working with other people’s kids! I hear it all the time from my clients who are in awe at how patient I can be with THEIR KIDS! Unfortunately when it comes to MY KIDS, the well of patience runs dry and FAST!! So I guess you could say that I am writing this blog post to remind myself of what is important to remember when we have our portrait session!
Here is an example of a typical session with my own kids! This is one of my sessions that I did of just the kids. My oldest was super cranky but we managed to get her out of it for a second and then the little guy put up a fuss! Yes, after doing some crazy stuff to make them laugh we finally go all three kids to smile but it was a LOT of work to get there and the funny thing is the grumpy shot is my favorite and it is up in my home as a large wall canvas! See, even when they are not “cooperating” we can get great images!So, no worries!
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What about bribes? Yes, they can work for some kids! Bribes are good BUT NO THREATS!! KEEP IT POSITIVE!! Older children in particular can be bribed into “cooperating and keeping a positive attitude” when rewarded with their favorite things after the session! I know it works with mine most of the time!
THIS IMAGE was from MY VACATION! I really wanted a nice shot of them at the beach so I bribed them with $5 each! BEST INVESTMENT EVER! I LOVE this picture!
.jpg "THESE SMILES are the result of a BRIBE! My kids on vacation and I bribed them! Worth every penny!")
Just remember to keep everything POSITIVE and try to make it FUN for the kids!! I’ve seen sessions ruined by parents stressing out about kids “not behaving” as the parents wanted and then yelling at them! That does NOT WORK!!! TRUST ME! Kids do not all of a sudden get nice natural smiles because they are yelled at! If they are upset, COMFORT THEM (I will capture those precious moments) and then do something silly to get them out of that mood and back into having fun!
Remember, we are trying to capture NATURAL MOMENTS! Smiles are GREAT but the NOT the kind you get when told to smile! It’s the kind you see on your child as they are building up to a laugh or coming down from one. The kind you get when you whisper a private joke in their ear or do something silly you know they love! It is the kind of smile they get knowing they are LOVED and feeling it!
Lastly, TRUST YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER (ME!)! I have worked with HUNDREDS of families and all different personality types. Somehow I almost always get some great shots! The only exceptions are when I have parents yelling at their kids and putting them down (YES, that actually happens) and then they wonder why I didn’t get the shots they envisioned of their happy child! UGH! If you are OPEN, RELAXED and keep things POSITIVE and FUN for the kids, we WILL get some WONDERFUL IMAGES of your FAMILY!
Ju
by admin