Hi Mom and Dad, I know that having a photography session with the little ones can be stressful. You take the time before the session to get everyone ready, put on nice clothes, fix the hair and eventually get everyone out of the house. And, you still have to get everyone to the photography studio without messing up the cute outfits or hair. But once you are at the session, relax and let the photographer do his or her thing. And don’t worry about the hair, we have a nice makeup and changing area to fix that.

Relax

Our children often look to us for how to behave, so if they see the adults relaxed, they will relax. Often when parents begin to get stressed and tense, the children will pick up on that. A recent comment we received on Facebook was, “Great photographer, can make anyone feel fabulous and relaxed in front of the camera.” and who am I to argue. One of the consistent items of feedback we receive here is how relaxed we are. So, feel free to relax with us.

When you arrive at the studio, the first thing we do is sit down with you, before the lights are on and the camera is clicking to discuss what you want out of the photography session. These conversion plant ideas in my head on how to arrange people during the photography session. It is also for the purpose of letting the children get accustomed to the environment and the new face. We have a nice box of toys out that they are more than welcome to start digging into.

Stop looking at your children

When we are doing a larger family picture, often I will see mom and dad looking at the kids instead of towards the camera. It is fine and sometimes fun to have photos of people looking at each other or off in the distance. But the looking at the kids’ picture isn’t necessarily the best one because you are looking to them to make sure they are looking at me, which then has you not looking relaxed or having fun. We are often so worried about what our children are doing we end up not paying attention to what we are doing. But remember, you have me! The reason professional photographers are better than most is we know how to get the kids attention. So, don’t worry about it.

During the family photography session the photographer (aka me), we can work together as a team to bring out the beautiful personalities.

Don’t try to force your child to pose

I’ve found that often parents will tell their kids “you need to be good” before or during a photography session. For many kids that puts pressure on them and stresses them. On top of being told to perform, keep in mind they are in a new environment with a person they have never seen before and standing in front of a bunch of lights. Parents wanting their cute little monkey to dance for the photographer might find the child isn’t as into dancing as they want them to be.

Something that is a good idea for children is to bring along some favorite toys. These are comfort items for the child and having the ability to bring that and get their favorite teddy’s photograph with them will help them relax. If you forget, don’t worry, in our studio, we have a nice big box of toys for the little ones to play with. Often if we can see they are nervous or unsure, we might get mom and dad in front of the camera and let the little ones relax a bit and play for a while to get comfortable in the space. If the kids don’t want to sit and smile, don’t try to force them. Let them run around and be kids. Play with them, make it fun. Let your photographer decide when to start taking the photographs and lead the flow of the session.

Part of what makes a family photography session a worthwhile experience is that you don’t need to worry about having the kids posing. By letting them be themselves, it allows for each session to be unique to you and your family. Yes, I have some set poses in mind depending on our initial conversation. But, it is also fun on occasion to let the kids do their thing and maybe snap a picture that is unique to them, and show off who they are.

Have Fun!

How do you have fun in this crazy new environment with a photographer standing before you and a camera in their hand? Play with the toys as well with your kid. During your session give your children, husband, or wife some tickles. Make funny faces at them, give them big hugs, and joke around. Follow the photographers lead. One of the best things about being a photographer is the fun we get to have meeting new people and playing with the kids. So play along and don’t stress about getting the perfect shot.

A professional photography session is an experience that you don’t have regularly. Often this will be your first time in a photography studio so enjoy the experience. They are only children for a short time. And all of this is why, when it comes to family photography D Studios Photography is the best choice when looking for a photographer for your family.

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I do think, however, that sometimes the best photographs can happen when people aren’t looking or thinking about the photograph at all. For example in this photograph. I set the little boy in the suitcase with some toys. The intent was to get a picture of him looking at the camera with the toys around him, which I was able to do. But I also manged to get this picture, which I like, because he is reacting to his new situation, looking at the back of the suitcase and potentially reacting in a way that will make a great photograph. If I had tried to distract him from that I might have missed this picture.

In this image my intent was to have him looking at me and her at him, then as they were playing around, he looked off as if he was too cool and we ended up with this lovely spottiness moment.

And for this one, the little girl was making faces at her family off camera for this fantastic expression.

The moral of the story,

Don’t be afraid to look off camera, I don’t mind at all.

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Smile?

Obvious, right? Not really. No one wants to see a fake smile. Instead of forcing a smile, just relax, have fun, and let any smiles come naturally. I have had parents standing behind me telling the kids to smile or look at the camera. Would you like it if someone was standing and telling you to smile? So let the photographer do their job. If they are any good (like me) they will engage the children naturally and have fun with them. Then when the photographer and child are having fun together we get those natural smiles from children. If you want to help, smile and have fun yourself. If you are engaged and enjoy being together as a family so will your children and you will be pleasantly surprised when you get your photographs later and everyone looks great.

Let’s say your child really doesn’t want to smile or maybe you don’t either? That’s fine. People often think they have to smile to look good in a picture. I feel that it is more important to engage with one another and let smiles come naturally. If they don’t, I have numerous pictures on the walls of the studios showing children not smiling that look wonderful. In fact sometimes I will tell people not to smile and instead of going for a happy upbeat moment we can get a lovely photograph of you and your family in an intimate moment. On occasion, what happens is that while trying not to smile people will involuntarily laugh or grin and snap, we just got a good picture.

What to Wear

Wear whatever you want! They are your photos and will be hanging on your walls. So you should feel comfortable in what you are wearing. If you would like a suggestion from an experienced pro, I usually recommend colors. Avoid solid blacks or whites unless you want a formal look. Try to avoid having everyone in patterns as this can create really busy images on the eye and distract from your expressions. When it comes to color go with neutrals such as creams and blues. Or if going bold, go reds, yellows, and other bright colors look great. Do you have a favorite hat or other clothing item? Bring that to your session as well and the photographer can incorporate that. Another bit of advice is avoid anything with a logo. For one reason the pictures might look dated later on. Another reason is do you want to advertise for that company in a photograph that could be seen for years? If it isn’t your company, then I’d say avoid it.

Rest Up

Be certain not to schedule your photography session around a young child’s nap or bedtime as they might get cranky. The night before your photography session try to get some decent sleep so that your eyes and skin look good. Also, have something to eat before. You will be standing in the lights for an hour or more and it is a good idea to not be hungry. Feel free bring a snack for the little ones. For the young ones it usually takes them about 10 to 20 minutes to lose complete interest in the session so a break with a snack might be in order for them at some point during the session.

Let Kids Be Kids

I know I said this in the smile section but it is worth reiterating here. I’ve found that often parents will tell their kids “you need to be good” before or during a photography session. For many kids that puts pressure on them and stresses them. On top of being told to perform, keep in mind they are in a new environment with a person they have never seen before and standing in front of a bunch of lights. Parents wanting their cute little monkey to dance for the photographer might find the child isn’t as into dancing as they want them to be.

Something that is a good idea for children is to bring along some favorite toys. These are comfort items for the child and having the ability to bring that and get their favorite teddy’s photograph with them will help them relax. If you forget, don’t worry, in our studio we have a nice big box of toys for the little ones to play with. Often if we can see they are nervous or unsure we might get mom and dad in front of the camera and let the little ones relax a bit and just play for a while to get comfortable in the space. If the kids don’t want to sit and smile don’t try to force them. Let them run around and be kids. Play with them, make it fun. Let your photographer decide when to start taking the photographs and lead the flow of the session.

Have Fun!

How do you have fun in this crazy new environment with a photographer standing before you and a camera in their hand? Play with the toys as well with your kid. During your session give your children, husband, or wife some tickles. Make funny faces at them, give them big hugs, and joke around. Follow the photographers lead. One of the best things about being a photographer is the fun we get to have meeting new people and playing with the kids. So play along and don’t stress about getting the perfect shot.

A professional photography session is an experience that you don’t have regularly. Often this will be your first time in a photography studio so enjoy the experience. Make a day out of it, a photography session, lunch, or a day at the park and photography session.

Best Photography

The best compliment I have received from my clients is how much fun they had at their session. Or how they were stressed at the beginning and ended the session by saying how relaxed I made it. It isn’t just me that makes the session relaxing and fun. Yes, the photographer is in charge but we are partners with you during your photography session so let’s make it a pleasurable one. This goes for family sessions, couples, children, or even your pet. When people are naturally having fun it shows on camera and you will have lovely photographs to remember the good times with.

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Our pets are often members of our family and this one has some wonderful parents to take care of her.

You are welcome back anytime Cookie

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