3 Steps for a Relaxed Family Portrait Session
By, Kurtis Landry of Kurtis Landry Photography, Broken Arrow Oklahoma
Step 1:
Be prepared for your photo session. What does it mean to be prepared? The following are a few tips and tricks to ensure everything goes smoothly on the day of your shoot.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to your photographer with questions or concerns prior to the session. The more you know what to expect, the less rushed or stressed you and your family will feel.
Pick outfits at least a week ahead of the session.
Don’t wear matching colors, instead wear complimentary colors. It always looks better, more natural.
Make sure outfits fit and are comfortable and appropriate for the session/weather/theme.
Bring an extra outfit in case of accidental spills or last minute wardrobe changes.
Get hair and makeup done a couple weeks ahead to avoid any unexpected surprises and repeat for the day of the shoot.
Plan location and props.
Be sure to explain to children what to expect. Do your best to minimize any anxiety around the event. Let them know that the day is about fun and creativity, this will go a long way in ensuring that they are at ease.
Get a good night's rest before the shoot.
Bring a few snacks to bribe kids with. Don’t tell them about snacks until we need them. It is good to bring toys so when we break apart to get the adult pictures and individuals they can keep themselves busy.
It is also great to bring props that you all can get together and play with. Examples: frisbee, kite, soccer ball etc.
Step 2:
Now that you are prepared and ready, step 2 is all about having fun. Just being yourselves and enjoying the moment. I am really good about capturing moments..
Try your best to show up on time. I prefer scheduling my shoots when we have the best natural lighting available. Photographers call this the golden hour and I try my best to take advantage of natural lighting conditions. It doesn’t last long, but the results are always worth the effort to find the perfect lighting window.
My job is to help you all relax and enjoy the day.
Sometimes kids will get impatient taking pictures, they may cry, fuss, not smile, throw a fit and that is ok. I am very patient and these moments are worthwhile to capture as well. A memory is a memory and later on down the road your family can share a laugh about it.
Just be yourselves. Play, laugh, wrestle and cuddle! These moments always look great in images.
Don’t worry about posing. I will help you all get in the right pose.
I will introduce myself to you and your kids while trying to establish a positive connection that makes them feel at ease prior to sticking a camera in their face. Sometimes t
involve just letting you and your family interact with each other while I stand back using a longer lens to capture images without disturbing you. Then we can ease into taking candid personal photos that require more involvement. Reviewing the photos as we go can help keep kids entertained while we move along. Seeing photos and getting their feedback creates an interactive experience which can do wonders for maintaining their enthusiasm.
Once kids finally start getting comfortable with the candids, we can work on the more posed shots.
We are not trying to force anything. In other words don’t feel pressured to make everything perfect. Just relax and I will take care of the rest.
Step 3:
Expect that there may be problems at the shoot. There may be poor weather conditions, other people in the area, a grumpy baby or a child who really doesn’t want to be there. We can’t account for every unknown variable but we can always be prepared and have a plan B.
We will have a second location set as a backup in case we can’t use our primary location.
If there is poor lighting in our shooting location, I can handle that with external flashes and strobes.
If there are too many people in our shooting location, we will adjust our positions. If this won’t work we will move to another location.
If the weather gets bad we will reschedule or wait for it to pass. Neither are an issue for me.
We will check the weather the day prior to an outdoor shoot, and also a couple of hours before. If there is a chance it will not work we can always reschedule the shoot.
Small children sometimes will have a big breakdown moment. This is ok. I am patient and can wait till the child calms down.
If your child does start crying feel free to try and comfort/console the child. These interactions can be a great opportunity to capture a moment.
If your small child usually takes naps please try to ensure they get their nap before the shoot.
Maybe a child will not smile. This is ok, because a forced smile can look worse than a child who isn’t smiling. I always have my camera ready to capture that unexpected big smile. It may not be in a posed shot, but I will always strive to capture your children laughing and playing.
If we need to stop and take a break that is ok. Again I want to capture the best images and am more than willing to invest the time required to do so.
Sometimes younger kids will dictate how long the shoot lasts. Sometimes it can be as little as 30 minutes of trying to get the right pose or interactions. Taking a break for a walk or snacks is perfectly okay and a great opportunity to capture candid moments of interactions with the kids, siblings playing, etc.
At the end of the day it is my responsibility to get you all comfortable and at ease in front of the camera. I love what I do and it shows the day of the shoot. My energy that I bring to the session is I am excited to be there and I am going to have a blast capturing your family's portraits. This means that you all are going to have a relaxed and fun session. I am excited that I get to spend this time with you and your family. I look forward to getting to know you all. I am very honored that you chose Kurtis Landry’s Photography to capture your family portraits.
