Its family photoshoot season!
The sun is out for long, the temperature is creeping warmer and warmer as the weeks go by, and all of the lovely flowey dresses and outfits are appearing on the High street. If you haven’t already booked your family photoshoot, now is the time to jump to it, as so many photographers are already booked out.
But as your date comes creeping up, and the excitement builds, so does the anxiety for a lot of parents. Will your children behave, will they hate it, what happens if it rains, what happens if you need to feed them snacks….there are so many unknowns! The last thing you want is packets of crips appearing in your photos while your tear stained toddler munches down on them, with everyone bit exasperated with the situation.
Here are some tips to make sure things run smoothly
- Don’t threaten the kids, or scare them. Just tell them you are meeting me, and its going to be fun. Tell them where you are going, what snacks they can have in the car, and the treat they can have afterwards. The last thing you want is your kids standing with a concrete scared smile instead of being natural and playing.
- Don’t feed them chocolate in the car beforehand. Small hands heat up chocolate and kids generally wipe their hands on the closest surface – usually their white shirt. Just feed them dry crackers or crisps on the journey.
- Make sure the kids are happy with their outfits. My son wore his Wellies in our first family photoshoot. We couldn’t change his mind otherwise. Its ok, its a memory and a stage in life and its ok if it doesn’t entirely fit the style guide.
- Try and get the kids to do something quiet the afternoon of your shoot. Don’t take them to London and back. Keep them still. We all know kids generally like their own space, and home is that safe place, so if they haven’t been home all day, they can be over dealing with me before they even start.
- If you are unsure of what to wear, its totally ok. Just ask me. We can chat and order a few things. I also have a client closet so you can borrow a few things from that if you like!
- The biggest tip of all, is don’t feel like you have to stand still and smile at me. Move freely, interact with your family, let your eyes, hand and body wander and move freely. The pose I put you in is a baseline, the best images come from when the interaction, laughter and emotions show.
Most of all, just enjoy yourselves! You wouldn’t believe the amount people that have booked with me, and said the last photography experience they had was awful, because they felt uncomfortable. You have to book with someone you relate to. You are about to spend a few hours chatting and interacting with me. So don’t be afraid to ask for a phonecall or a zoom call before the shoot.
If you are wanting a family photoshoot, June and July have a few spaces still free!
