1 – Be patient with your kids. Nothing breaks my heart more than setting up a family session at the beach
just to have parents constantly yell orders at their kids to not touch the sand or to stay away from the water.
Look, I’m a mom too, I get it. We all want our kids to behave, especially when we’ve invested a good amount of $$$ on a professional photographer
but here’s the thing: kids will feed off their parents’ energy. I don’t want to tell you how to parent your own kids but
trust me when I say, at your next family photo session, skip the threats and discipline and try a little extra patience, give them
room to play and be themselves. When in doubt, let the photographer you hired take the lead!
2- Be a kind partner. Dads are usually the least excited about dressing up and spending more than an hour taking pictures while moms are usually the most worried and trying to micro manage as much as possible. I highly suggest prioritizing connection with your spouse/partner before taking family pictures. Put your phone away early the night before, get quality rest, or grab a glass of wine together… the point is spend quality time before you head out to your family session.
While at the session, take as many deep breaths (or breaks!) as you need and trust your photographer’s prompts or instructions on how to pose.
3- Make it special. Make photo day special for everyone! Think of it a something special to do as a family. Get the kids out of school early, call out of work if you need to and then wrap the day up with some pizza at the beach, movie night, or a bottle of champagne. Start making your annual family photo day something exciting that everyone will look forward to
4- Prepare! Minimizing stress is KEY to making your whole family session a success and the only way to do that is to prepare ahead of time. Work with your photographer on styling options and order or buy everything on time!, discuss locations (don’t just leave it up to your photog!), pack snacks, be ready to sit in traffic either on the way there or on the way back home and plan accordingly. Do whatever you need to do to show up to your shoot feeling relaxed instead of stressed out because you’re running late, you got lost, kids had a meltdown, you couldn’t find parking and got into an argument with your partner about it. Also, super important, if your kids are at the age where you can have a conversation with them, talk to them about what you’re going to do, set your expectations… and then let it go.
5- Trust your photographer. Easy peasy. No lengthy explanations needed. Trust your photographer about the time they’re suggesting, trust them
with the directions (or lack of) they’re giving you during the shoot, trust them when they give you advice about what to wear or what not to wear.
P.s. if you’re ready to book me as your family photographer this year, fill out this super quick little inquiry form HERE:
http://www.clickinmarphoto.com/contact
I can photograph you anywhere between Key West and Port St. Lucie, FL
You can also find me in Oregon and Southern Utah in the Fall if you’d like to chat about travel sessions.
