How does it work?
My goal for all photo shoots is to artistically capture the essence of a child; their personality, their heart, and their soul. The best way to accomplish this is to follow your family in an everyday activity and setting where you children feel most at ease and comfortable. Kids are naturally very open and honest, and my goal on our shoot is to keep that honesty and openness flowing. Depending on what your kids are into and what constitutes a good time at your house…we might go to the park, hang out at the house, go to grandmas and play Legos, take the dogs for a walk, explore the canal, or have a picnic at the monuments.
If you want to capture your whole family, then my goal is to capture the unique love and beauty of your family. I aim to capture the way your children look when they being read to, how excited they are when the make the ultimate Legos star wars spaceship, the joy of swinging as high as they can go on the swings, finding a turtle in the woods, or scorning a goal against dad in soccer. Those are they everyday types of moments that highlight what is special and distinctive about your family.
So how do we make it happen?
I have two rules for my shoots that are designed to help you look natural:
1. Have fun! I know it sounds corny, but everyone looks beautiful when they are laughing and having fun. That is what we do on a shoot; we laugh, giggle, dance, and do whatever it takes to get the whole gang into the spirit.
2. Eat cheese, don’t say it! I know it is hard not to do it, since we have all been trained from birth to think saying “cheese” is what you do when the camera comes out. But seriously, please do not say it and do not ask your kids to say it. Please also refrain from telling them to give a “nice smile” or look pretty for the camera. However, DON’T WORRY! After awhile, your kids will not even notice me and I will capture all the natural smiles and giggles that you know and love about them. And I will capture the quiet thoughtful moments too.
What to wear?
This is often the most asked question and the one thing that flusters many parents. If your kids are like mine, than what they are wearing plays a big role in how they are feeling. So start with the clothes that your kids feel comfortable in and allow them to feel like themselves.
My general rule is to keep it simple and keep it comfortable. Start with simple, solid colors and build from there. If you like a little more “flair” in you portraits, that’s great! Bring a fun hat, belt, scarf or something that adds interest or a pop of color. If your child has a favorite article of clothing with a fun and funky design or pattern, let’s use it. The point with any outfit is that your child is the focus and not what they are wearing. Clothes should compliment, not dominate.
I do have a few simple tips to guide you:
- Everyone’s pant and sleeve lengths need to be the same for consistency.
- Keep color tones and styles similar; everyone in jeans and t-shirt shirt, or everyone in dresses.
- Leave the Sunday best party outfits at home in the closet. My photo shoots are designed to be fun and playful. And it is hard to have fun and play if you are trying to keep your best party clothes clean and nice.
- Avoid matching outfits unless this is really how you all dress in real life. And even if you do all go out in khakis and a white shirt, let’s try something new and not match for our shoot.
- Bows or big headbands for girls, and especially for babies, are extremely distracting in a photograph. In fact, they keep you from seeing or focusing on your child’s face and are so overwhelming that all you will see is the big bow or headband.
- Smocked Jon Jons for boys are not flattering and not conducive to having fun.
- Cutsie sweaters, dresses, outfits that indicate it is a particular Holiday or event are fun but not conducive to the artistic timeless style of portraiture we are going for here.
- Clothing with cartoon characters, writing, or logos (unless you have a personal affiliation with the company) are really distracting and make you a walking free advertisement. If there is a shirt with writing or logos you are dying to use, lets talk in advance and talk about if we need build time in for an outfit change.
If you need ideas, browse though my website portfolio and my previous photo sessions on my blog. That should give you ideas about what others typically wear on a session. When you are ready to book we can talk through clothing and the setting so they all fit together. I am also happy to help you pick a good outfit…just ask!
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