Family photos with small children can be tricky, and often stressful as you have envisioned the perfect smiling children doing exactly as you say for the whole shoot. I hate to break it to you, but most of those adorable photos are probably just after or before tears! In my experience, even the best behaved, smile for the camera kids have a melt down during a session, in fact, I have never had a session go perfectly, AND THAT’S OK!
So to help eliminate some stress of family photo day, and help you get the best photos you can, here are some tips and tricks that go a long way to getting the best photos you can as a family!
1. Know a meltdown/tears/being uncooperative is most likely inevitable! The good news is we will still get amazing photos! My goal is to have a much fun as possible with you and your kids so these hard moments can just pass by.
2. The best thing you can do in these moments is help your child re-focus and do something fun. If you know something they often smile about, have those ideas in your back pocket! And dear parent, DON’T STRESS OUT! Often parents stressing out over their child’s behavior has more to do with the outcome of the photos than the child! Stay happy and silly, and we will continue to have a blast and get sweet photos!
3. Make a fool out of yourself!! When you are trying to get the best smile, don’t be afraid to do whatever it takes to make them smile! Dance around, make monkey noises, be silly and you will get those sweet authentic smiles.
4. Have ideas beforehand of ways to interact that you know will make them smile. For my boys, I can almost always turn around tears with a “Let’s race,” or “I’m going to tickle you!” They also love it when their dad throws them in the air, or we spin around. What are the things you can do that are playful and fun with your child?
5. That cute, spotless, outfit you carefully picked out? Sorry, it’s going to get dirty, it’s just a law of photography, clean kids get messy ;) But the good news? Its ok!! We will move fast and a little dirt won’t show up in the photos, and if it does, I will edit it out.
6. Prep your kids beforehand. Talk A LOT about the photos you are going to have taken. Be silly and practice smiles beforehand. When a child understands what is going to happen, they will be much more willing to go along with the flow during the shoot.
7. While I try to avoid bribing my kids in everyday life, sometimes a smile for a gummy bear is all it takes, you might even want to tell your kids beforehand that if they smile they will get a gummy bear or ice cream after! Just avoid feeding them foods during the session that will stain their mouths like M&M’s or chocolate that has a tendency to get on everything!
8. Have a fun person to bring along to help get the kids to smile, or entertain them while we grab some couple photos?! Bring them! Extra hands, though not mandatory, are always helpful!
9. HAVE FUN!! Enjoy the process along with me, enjoy the family time, and know, even in the hardest sessions, we will always get beautiful photos you will cherish forever! We will, I promise!
Ready to book your session!?!
Fall Mini Sessions are a great way to snap a few photos in a quick setting.... you can see the open sessions here, and GUESS WHAT?! They are only $65 www.KateBucklesPhotography.com/booking
Want a FULL session? These are filling fast for the fall, shoot me an email and we can chat about open dates and all the detials... oh and yeah, only $200 for these ;) KateBucklesPhotography@gmail.com
