How to Get Your Family Pumped about Family Photos in 10 minutes or Less
If I were to tell you the one requirement to getting family photos with me, whether that be in your home, in my Sausalito studio or at one of my amazing Bay Area locations, do you know what it would be? You might think it would be the perfect backdrop or the most beautiful weather, or even the best outfits. You would be dead wrong. It’s that you have freaking fun!!!!
Having fun in your family photos is the most important thing to me when you walk through my metaphorical doors. Why? Because if you ARE having fun, you LOOK like you are having fun. Sounds obvious, but that is actually the secret to all of the smiles on my website. Real, actual fun makes real, actual smiles.
Now, how exactly do we have fun when we are all dressed up and had to get three young kids ready and convince my spouse to take these pictures and it might be colder than we planned and your shoes you wanted didn’t arrive in time? Well, we let it all go.
Yes, absolutely plan for a succesful session with your outfits (here’s some killer outfit planning tips), and carefully choose your location and chat with me about the weather, and talk to your spouse about the importance of why you need to be beautifully documented in your memories so they understand how much these mean to you. But, once you head into the week of the photoshoot, you’ve done all there is to do, and now is the time to focus on the fun.
Choose your words carefully- This is going to heavily depend on your photographer, but if your family photos are with me, you need to prep your family carefully. Do not tell young children ‘Now kids, these photos are really important to mommy and I need you to say cheese and give your best smiles.’ Do not do that. They do not want to do that, and while they love you, that is not enough to get them to smile on camera with real smiles. Instead, tell them, ‘Hey, we are going to meet Cristin and she’s a really fun photographer who is going to play games with us while she takes our pictures so we can print them big on our walls! Isn’t that fun? I want you to make sure when you get there to tell her all about your awesome dinosaur collection and try to have the best time and be yourself!’. See the difference?
Take the pressure off the adults- Just like the kiddos don’t need to feel stressed and pressured to do their best, you don’t either. I have seen it all, trust me. There’s no way your kids could behave that would surprise me, and I always get something awesome at the end of the day. Have a little pep-talk with your partner and remember that you love each other, you love your kids, and this is supposed to show your REAL love. Just focus on that. Tell yourselves that on Saturday, you are going to show up, play with your kids, and trust me to do the rest and make you look amazing while doing it.
Make it an experience- Plan to add something special to your day after your get your photos taken for everyone to look forward to. No, not a bribe, but more of a packaging of something that you are a little more worried about or kids might not be super pumped about prior, with something that is extra special, like getting ice cream or going to your favorite pizza place. Note: Do not do too much that day or it’ll be overwhelmed with experiences and the kiddos will be exhausted. Try to keep it light and calm prior to the session with no scheduled activities, and then the fun can happen after the session.
Set the mood- Now let’s say you’ve done all that and the day of the session comes and you are running behind, and someone missed a nap, and your kids hit each other on the way out the door and you and your partner got in a fight about who was supposed to clean the socks for the session. BEEN THERE. Once you get in that car, no matter what happened, let it go. Turn on your favorite music. Sing in the car. Reiterate the fun, and start having the fun, before you even arrive. I promise, taking a deep breath and resetting you and your family in time for a 5-10 minute dance break with your crew will be well worth it and keeps from having grumpy faces greet me at the door.
Are you ready to have some freaking fun with your crew and make memories that you’ll be able to look back on for a lifetime? I got you. I photograph families all over the Bay Area.
You can read all about my family and newborn photography offerings and book your session here!
