Spring is in full swing and that means its time to start thinking about getting those family portraits updated! Whether its out in the Texas Bluebonnets or in the front yard of your house getting everyone together, wearing matching or at least coordinated clothes and trying to get everyone to smile at the exact same time, family photos are everyone’s favorite experience!
Well, not really…
For most participants, the family portrait is a grueling experience. Usually only mom wants to be there. The kids are all hot and tired of being told to stand still and smile and dad often goes from complacent to a silent pipe-bomb of rage just waiting to explode. Add to that unpredictable weather, heat and or humidity, bugs, uncooperative animals, you’ve got a recipe for a photographic disaster!
But - there are a few ways you and your family avoid things becoming such a mess. Here are a few tips and tricks to make your family portrait experience something that is actually enjoyable!
Tips for Great Family Portraits
Choose a Photographer with Lots of Family Photo Experience
I’m a photographer and if someone contacts me and wants family photos, I’m going to take them! But I’m going to be honest - I’m not good at them. Sure, I can get you a great look photo in the end, but it takes a special and experienced photographer to be able to reign everyone in the family in and get them focused and smiling. I’ve worked with photographers in the past that are only family photographers and they almost seem to be able to hypnotize disruptive children, unhappy husbands, and critical mother-in-laws into an almost blissful catatonic trance where they smile and take amazing photos. When shopping for a family photographer, don’t only look at the end results, but take a look at their portfolio and their reviews. A photographer with lots of family photos under their belt and a lot of positive reviews definitely knows that they are doing! And if you’ve got someone that’s good at what they do in charge, it will make the entire process flow much more smoothly and more importantly, much faster!
Choose a Time that Works with Your Kids
This is the most important when your kids are under the age of 6 but it can also be a factor with kids of any age. For younger kids, bringing them when they are freshly rested can make all of the difference. Infants to preschool kids can become particularly difficult and cranky. Even older kids and teenaged children can be difficult and grumpy if they didn’t get much sleep the night before. Well rested kids make the best photographs!
So this means that you are going to have to schedule a time that works best for your kids rather than one that works best for your photographer or yourself. Make sure your younger kids are within an hour of waking up. Make sure you older kids haven’t been up all night at a friends house or playing video games. For everyone’s sake, pick a weekend that isn’t already packed full of things to do.
Choose a Place to Shoot that Makes it Easy
Almost no one is shooting family portraits in the studio any more. I have no idea why? When you opt to shoot outside, you are surrendering practically all control over the quality of your photos. It could be raining, it could be cold, or hot, cloudy or ridiculously sunny. Shooting outside can be extremely difficult. However it does give you the ability to get some more interesting backgrounds and work with larger props or even cars or buildings.
However, shooting in the studio is an amazing option and really really does simplify the process. The photographer can control the lighting, the environment (thank you AC and heat), and can even include customer backdrops and props. when you’re shooting outside, your photographer is battling the elements to get a decent shot while inside they can be in complete control and can produce more exact and beautiful images much faster than they ever could outside. It’s much faster to shoot in the studio also, meaning that you might be able to get everyone out of there before they expire and start screaming or grumping.
You’ve got to balance a lot of factors when it comes to selecting a place to shoot, but I would definitely recommend checking with your photographer to see what in-studio family portrait options they might have available.
Make it More than Just a Photo Shoot
Plan something fun to do afterwards! Ice cream, go to the movies, go out shopping, anything that will give your kids and your husband something to look forward to. This kind of reward motivation can really help people stay focused and gives everyone a reason to work hard to get the photos done and get out of there!
What to Wear to your Family Photo Shoot
A lot of families do themes or wear matching tops. You would be surprised how much drama this can cause. I’ve seen mom’s buy wrong sized shirts for their adult children, which is a disaster. I’ve seen some matching family shirts that are so embarrassingly lame that it almost physical hurt me to snap the shutter. I know many of you are going to approach family photos with this doctrine of ‘everyone much match’ or at least be coordinated, but I would suggest at least considering how resistant some of your family might be to this and how much drama it might cause. Because if its going to be a problem, its going to ruin the photos.
I once had an adult child lose it over being forced to wear a matching shirt for a photo shoot. In the Office part of my studio, this 20-something guy began screaming and dropping ‘f’ bombs at full volume. It made for some very awkward photos a few minutes later. It can be helpful to get input from your family members so that they might be more apt to wear the outfits without complaining. Or you could always just not worry about anyone matching and just let them be yourselves. Whatever you choose, just make sure that its appropriate for the weather. I’ve seen people taking family photos in tropical attire in 30 degree weather and people dressed up like eskimos in the middle of 80 degree weather. Everyone was miserable and its hard to smile when your teeth are chattering or you can’t get the sweat out of your eyes.
Remember to Have Fun
Families are being pulled in so many different directions these days and with so many distractions its hard to actually have any memorable or meaningful moments together as a family. Instead of making family photos a stressful event, why not try to turn it into something fun? The biggest problem with taking family photos is that someone, if not everyone is miserable and it just shouldn’t be that way. Talk with your photographer about ways you can make the shoot fun. Think about some out of the box photo ideas, check out Pinterest and see what neat concepts you can come up with. But don’t let your family photo be a miserable experience!