Just yesterday my family had our own family photos taken by the fabulous Jenny Starkey Photography. We planned our session to be taken at my in-laws lake house and as you can imagine coordinating that many people for a photo shoot is a process. While I was prepping for our session, I thought that I would share some of my tips with all of you.
- Plan ahead – when booking your family photo session, you want to start planning before the actual day. Start getting some ideas as to what you would like to have for colors and clothing options by looking through clothing catalogs, websites and my favorite Pinterest. Pinterest has so many great ideas for all seasons and locations. You can check out my clothing board here for some ideas.
- Decide where these photos are going to be displayed – when planning your session take a look around your home and see where you think you will want these photos to be displayed. For example, my living room is blue and very nautical and I know that I will be hanging these photos on a wall in there so we decided on a navy and coral color palette.
- Choose a variety of colors that compliment each other, the location and your personality – this does not mean all one color or super matchy matchy. Don’t be afraid to use patterns and solids together and be sure that the clothing that you choose compliments your personality. When choosing clothes, remember to take the location into account. If you are on the beach, light and airy clothing is best; for the farm, jeans and a button down shirt; and for indoor functions, a bit more formal attire. Lay everything out on your bed or hang it up next to each other and this will help you to visualize how the colors will go together and look in photos. Feel free to send me a photo of what you have ahead of time and I am happy to make suggestions.
- Shop ahead of time and TRY STUFF ON – there is nothing worse than getting to your session and realizing that you hate the way something looks on you or your children. Or, worse, it doesn’t fit. Try everything on and THEN IRON and put on hangers until it is time for your session this way everything will look great!
- Get everyone dressed as close to the session time as possible – keep the kids in another set of clothes until you arrive at your session so there is less of a chance of them spilling anything on their nicely pressed outfits. I literally fed my daughter in a diaper before the session and then threw her dress on right before we started shooting. There is nothing like a spill right before we start clicking away :).
As a NH Family Photographer it is my job to take the stress out of planning a photo session and I hope that these tips help. I want your experience to be fun and memorable. If you would like to receive my FREE Client Guide with more tips on what to wear and how to plan for your upcoming session please sign up here.
Summer is coming to an end soon and I still have a few dates available. Contact me today to book your summer family session. Stay tuned for the release of my upcoming fall dates!
