Family Photography sessions are always a mix of excitement and nerves, especially for mom. I’m here to help make your family portrait session planning easier, fun and stress free!
Once you book your date, I provide a welcome packet that will include most all of the information you need. It has in depth information about clothing choices, session expectation, planning advice, as well as information about all the fun art we can create with your finished images. I am also available for any and all questions leading up to the session. I’ll give you a few pointers here though, to help make your Boise family photography session a fun and memorable one!
1) Choosing outfits is an integral part of the session. Making sure you and your family are dressed in coordinating colors leads to an image that looks cohesive and professional. As it is such an important piece of attaining the outcome you hope for, wardrobe consultations are a complimentary inclusion with my Boise family photography sessions. Most families take me up on this and not only does it lead to great final images, it also allows your kids to meet and get comfortable with me prior to your session. Biggest tips while choosing outfits are – no logos, they are distracting and tend to make your images look more like snapshots, try to steer clear of super bright colors or being too “matchy matchy” (think jeans and white shirts for all). Best plan is to choose a neutral color palate, picking a few main colors and mixing fabrics and patterns. Set everything out on a bed, if it all looks good together and doesn’t clash, you are on the right track!
2) Make a day of it! Make sure you are telling your kids about your Boise family photography session in the days prior and mentioning how fun it’s going to be. Maybe plan on going to get breakfast together afterwards or somewhere else special so it seems exciting! Talk to your kids about silly faces they might make and maybe let them select between two outfits. Help daughters choose a fun lip gloss they get to wear for their pictures or have your son practice fixing his hair fancy. Call me by my name and let them know you are excited to see me and spend some time playing all together.
3) Make sure you schedule your session around naps and maybe don’t schedule a late night family movie for the evening prior to your Boise family photography session. Also make sure everyone, especially dads, have been fed prior to leaving the house.
4) Please don’t ask your kids to say cheese! We all know those ‘cheese’ grimaces are not your kids natural lovely facesJ It’s my job to get great expressions; expressions that are natural and authentic, and I will never ask your kids to say cheese to do so.
5) Kids will be kids. If your child is super grouchy or excited or sad, or whiny or shy, don’t worry! Sometimes they just need a little time. Often times I will take your child of on our own for a bit, not out of your sight, just a little ways off. Frequently they totally change as soon as they are not under mom and dads watch, these are the times we can often get the best expressions! I will also try to capture a few of those grouchy expressions too because they are great faces and memories for the future. Above all please never be embarrassed if your kids aren’t little posing angels who want to sit still and smile into the camera. I don’t think I’ve met that child yet:)
6) Dads, I know family photographs may not be your number one priority at sunrise on Saturday morning, but they are worth having. In 10 years, you will forget how much you wanted to sleep in and be so grateful that you documented the years that have passed. So for today, pretend, pretend like you’ve never pretended before, that this is the best thing that has ever happened to you! Your kids will notice and join in and in the blink of an eye you’ll be leaving, and saying to me in passing, as most dads do, “that was so much more fun than I expected”!
7) Bribes are ok! If you feel your kids may need a little extra persuasion during your Boise family photography session go ahead and bring a little treat. I suggest gummy bears, they are relatively mess free. NO CHOCOLATE! Its messy and melty and if kids laugh in the next photo they look like they have tiny rotting teeth all through their mouths:)
8) Lastly a message to all the moms. Do not sit out of your family photographs. So many moms call and say they would like to schedule a session just for their kids. When I ask why they inevitably tell me something like, I haven’t lost the baby weight or I never look good in pictures. Stop. Exist in photos for your children. Not for yourself, but for 20 years down the line when your children are looking back on their childhood. They aren’t going to care about the way you think your body looks, they are going to be looking at your face, seeing the way you were looking at them and hugging them and cuddling them onto your lap. As an added bonus, just to make you feel extra amazing during family photographs, all my sessions come with complimentary professional hair and makeup services. This way, you can focus on loving on your kids and I’ll pose you beautifully so you can see yourself the way your family sees you, gorgeous and full of love.
