PLANNING FOR A SUCCESSFUL PORTRAIT SESSIONS:

Great family photography sessions don't happen by accident! But the good news is that it's easy to set yourself up for a successful and stress free photo session! Here are some tips and tricks to help you plan for your shoot:

1) Tackle your wardrobe several weeks in advance. 

Don't wait until the last minute to start coordinating clothing. With single subjects and young children, it's easier to gather cute outfits in a time pinch, but the more subjects involved in your session, and the more teen and adults participating, the more care you will need to get everyone coordinating beautifully. Prep your clothing with enough time to allow for exchanges of different sizes and colors. As always, we are here to help while you put together your family picture clothes. And here is other article to help you dream up the perfect color palette to accent your family portraits. 

2) Schedule more demanding activities AFTER your portrait session.

One of the best ways to set your family up for a successful session is to make sure everyone participating is well rested. Activities such as the pool, a day at the beach, birthday parties, and carnivals should be scheduled after your session, not before. While this primarily effects younger children, worn out teens and adults are not immune. Well rested family members will communicate better with each other, handle the details of prepping more effectively, and overall will yield more joyful and happy moments throughout the photo session.

3) Don't practice "say cheese". 

While it's totally fine to prep children on your portrait plan in advance, there is no need to practice expressions and smiling before your shoot. During your photography session, we want natural, unforced expressions, and we will help elicit those from your little ones throughout your shoot.

4) Arrive early enough to catch your breath.

Always plan to arrive to your portrait location 10-15 minutes in advance. This give you time to park and get everyone out of the car and make last minute adjustments like tidying hair and clothing. Pulling into the parking lot 30 seconds before your session and hastily yanking everyone out of the car and running to our meeting location is a great way to stress everyone out and start your session upside down. Build in some breathing room into your schedule on picture day, you'll thank me for it!

Worried about the details of your photography session? Let's chat through them! I'm on your side and ready to help you plan your ideal family photography session!