My Top 5 Tips for Your Family Session
You've booked a family session, and now you're starting to mentally prepare yourself and the rest of your family. Here are my top 5 things you need to know before your family photo session.
1. Things will not go to plan
I feel like this one kind of goes without saying, but it's bound to happen. Someone will give themself a black-eye right before your session or your kids will be on their worst behavior just as your parking the car. Family photographers are usually par for the course and up for whatever happens. We understand that the primary parent probably spent a lot of time planning for one hour in front of the camera and the rest of the family complained about showing up. If your photographer is a documentary style photographer (like me) we're here to document you just as you are. Our job is to pick out the beauty of whatever is happening, so just let it happen.
2. Your outfits are important
It's true. They really help to set the vibe for your session. It is important to work with your photographer on your styling for your session so y'all can plan and work with your vision for your photos before the day of your session. I always want my families to be comfortable in their clothes so you're able to move around without worry about a clothing malfunction. I know it's exciting to buy new outfits for your photos, but I would recommend trying your clothes on for a whole day or at least a few hours so that you know if what you picked is comfortable. Is your dress too short or your sleeves too tight? Trust me when I say that if you're noticing it during a try on, you'll be really frustrated with those annoyances during your session.
3. Attitudes dictate your session
Good attitudes are the only way to have a fun session. This means you need to either make your session fun or fake it until you make it. If you're taking part in a lifestyle or documentary style session (aka not posing in a studio) then your family will be a mostly self-run machine. Yes, your photographer will help to guide you or provide prompts to keep your family moving in the right direction, HOWEVER you will need to be an active participant in your session. Which is really hard to do when you're grumpy or you have grumps in the family.
4. When all else fails...bribery
Ok, so your kids aren't listening to you and you've been trying to have a good attitude but tensions are now high and you're feeling like you're gonna flip your lid. That means it's time to bring out the bribes. Tell everyone if they can listen for "X" amount of minutes longer then everyone gets ice cream after photos. The goal is always to make photos so fun they don't have a chance to lose attention, but as #1 stated...things don't always go to plan and sometimes it's just an off day and we can't shake it off.
5. Trust your photographer
Last and most importantly, trust the process. It's always so hard to know if the images that have been taken are good or just chaotic, and sometimes it's both. If your photographer has been giving positive feedback, you have to trust that they've made images that are consistent with the work they post.
