Preparing Your Kiddos for your Family Session

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Ok. So you’ve booked yourself some family photos. But the day comes and it is STRESSFUL! Every hair must be combed, every face washed, no black things in the teeth, and “if you’re good and smile for the camera, you can have ice cream after our pictures.” Amiright?

It doesn’t have to be this way. Photos don’t have to be all about perfection. The beauty of lifestyle photos is in the lack of perfection. So don’t stress!

Let’s talk about how to prepare your kids for your session so it can be as smooth and fun as possible!

Number One: Trust your photographer! This is what I do. I’m not looking for perfection. I want to capture your kids as exactly who they are, because I believe they are amazing just the way they are. If you look at my portfolio, you’ll see that very rarely do I have kids looking directly at the camera and smiling. Instead, you see them playing, connecting with their parents, being kids, and looking through my lens. They are being their lovely little selves, and that is true art.

Number Two: Talk to them. Tell them what is going on. Be open about what is expected of them. We will be going on a fun adventure all together! Tell them they are expected to be in the photos, and will be told to sit or stand or lay down a few different ways. It will be fast - my sessions are 45-60 minutes long.

Number Three: Let them look at pictures. Old family photos, pictures of them on your phone, whatever you have. Show them pictures of themselves and tell them that that’s what we will be doing together. It’s easy to get kids on board when they know they will have fun new pictures of themselves to look at!

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Number Four: Don’t try anything new on the day of. If you haven’t curled their hair before, or worn that style of shirt, now is not the time. Have a dry run of the hair a few days before, break in those cute new shoes so we don’t have to worry about blisters. Make sure your kids are comfortable and minimize the fighting on the day of the session. The same goes for you!

Number Five: FEED THEM! Make sure they are rested. And go pee before you arrive at the location. No one is harder to work with than a hangry, tired child, who has to pee 27 times in an hour (I have four small kids of my own… so I get it!) If our session is later in the day, make sure they get some rest before the shoot, maybe have a later nap. Give them a snack just before - but nothing sugary! A sugar-high kid will zoom around and then crash. Which will make for some very funny early photos, but some very grumpy ones at the end!

Number Six: Don’t bribe them, but do offer a reward for tolerating the session. Make it something fun you can do as a family after - maybe go for ice cream all together, or a family movie night. Just don’t make the reward contingent on their behaviour during the session! Don’t feed them fruit snacks during the session if they are behaving.

Number Seven: I don’t require your child smile. I will never tell them to look at the camera and smile. You won’t hear me tell them to “say cheese!” (Please don’t tell them that yourselves!) Smiling kids are not necessary. My goal is to capture the perfection of your children just as they are. If they aren’t comfortable leaving your side or your arms, that’s ok. If they never want to look at me, that’s ok. I will sneak their portraits in no matter what they are doing, and they will be beautiful!

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At the end of the day, your kids will be their own amazing, unique little selves, and it will be amazing! Trust them, and trust me to turn them into art you’ll treasure.




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Your Newborn Session