Trust me, I know family photos can be dreadful, especially with kids. Between picking out the location, coordinating outfits, and getting everyone to cooperate it can be a lot. Today I am sharing 5 tips to nail your family photos and make them as fun and stress-free as possible!
- Location- Before you do anything else, make sure you know where you are going to shoot. I like to plan outfits around the location and make sure that it matches my vision. Our photographer sent us a few different locations and I liked the lighter tones and trees that this one had. You can also send your photographer photos from Pinterest and they can help you find a location similar.
- Outfits-You don’t need everyone to be matchy matchy, but you want the colors to coordinate. I picked out my outfit first and then planned Kevin’s and Wyatt’s around mine. They are boys so it’s so much easier to dress them! Since it’s the holidays, don’t feel like you need to hold back on an amazing statement piece. I came across this sequin skirt and right away I had a vision in my head. Since the skirt is a little extra I kept the top very classic and simple. I decided to put Kevin and Wyatt in lighter colors so that all of us looked cohesive. If you are someone who likes to wear holiday colors, like red or green, I would stick to darker tones instead of lighter ones. Pinterest is always a great place to get ideas as well!
- Timing- If you have little ones timing is everything! We made sure to plan everything around Wyatt’s nap and feeding schedule so that he would be in the best mood possible for the shoot. We had a 30 minute drive, so I fed him in the back seat on the way. I also made sure to arrive a 15 minutes early so that we were not feeling flustered or rushed. One other tip is to send your photographer photos from Pinterest so they can get an idea what poses you like. This will make the shoot go way faster- I think we shot everything in 30 minutes!
- Distractions- Between Layla (our labradoodle) and Wyatt I am so happy we brought toys and treats to distract them and get them to look at the camera. Layla was a little harder to control, but these things definitely helped and made my life a lot easier! Also, don’t feel like you need to get the “perfect” shot! I think its much more fun to see real shots of everyone laughing or looking at each other etc.
- Take horizontal and vertical photos- I didn’t think about this until after the fact, but I am so happy that our photographer took photos both ways because it made selecting our holiday card so much easier! We decided to add a few extra photos to the back of our card and I loved that I could use both horizontal and vertical.
Here is the holiday card that we went with. I love the handwriting and simplicity!
Outfit details:
Jen: skirt (size 2)//blouse (small, similar here and here)
Kevin: jeans//shirt//sweater (similar here)//shoes
Wyatt: pants//shirt (similar here)//sweater (identical here and here)//shoes
