Tips for a Successful Session

Smith Family Photography developed from a need that I had as a mother.  We have a "his-mine-ours" type of family, which consists of nine children.  Family photograph sessions with a family that size are typically very expensive and stressful.  Kids do not want to cooperate.  They fight.  They argue.  They give goofy faces.  They are KIDS!  Although they are kids, photographers have a set amount of time they can spend at each session, which just adds to the stress. 

My country girls.

As a mother, I hated photography sessions and the majority of the time I was less than impressed with the results.  I wanted to provide an affordable photography service specifically for families.  I strive to provide a relaxed atmosphere for the session and understand kids are kids.  A little bit of patience goes a long way with them, as I found out during my time as an elementary teacher. 

When you book a session with us, you will more than likely get to meet members of my family.  After all, Smith Family Photography is a family company and we all work together to provide a service to our clients.

I am constantly researching various areas of photography and currently I have been doing a TON of research on helping my clients prepare for their upcoming session.  I have heard many clients tell me that they want to have a family session, but they don't think their kids will cooperate and it will just be stressful.  I can honestly say that was me a few years ago! 

I recently stumbled upon an article titled, 101 Family Picture Tips and Ideas by TheDatingDivas.com.  This artcle is FANTASTIC!!  They discuss so much more than getting kids to cooperate! 

1.  Printable Planner.  The site has a printable planner that you can use to help organize all the session during the planning stage.  You can access it here. 

2.  Choosing a Photographer.  I would love to work with you and your family, however I do realize that for whatever reason we might not be able to do so.  In such an instance, I can give you some referrals for other photographers in the area that might meet your needs. 

3.  Choosing a Location.  After you have chosen a photographer, you can nail down your location.  This is typically done at the same time as actually hiring a photographer.  You might have a specific location in mind, but if you need assistance in choosing a location I am happy to do so and provide you with example portraits from those locations.  I have several "favorite" locations that I like to use in Limestone County and Waco.  One of my favorite locations is at a private family ranch.  No other photographers have access to this location which includes a covered bridge!

Rustic exclusive location with a covered bridge.

4. Props...to use or not to use.  For family sessions I like to keep props to a minimum if they are used at all.  I don't want the props to distract from the family.  With seniors on the other hand, they typically need some props to personalize their session.  The same can be said for small children.  They need things to keep their interest.  I like to talk with the client and determine what type of images they'd like to have hanging on their wall and go from there when deciding whether or not to use props.

5.  Poses.  After the session is booked, I will begin planning the session.  This includes possible poses.  I will actually make a list of poses that I'd love to use for your family.  Each list is unique in that no two lists are ever the same.  I want your session to be just as unique as your family is - no two families are the exact same so why should their photos look the same?

6.  Clothes - What should we wear?  Last week's blog was all about what to wear.  You can read it here.

7.  How to Look Good in Front of the Camera.  There are several stances you can do to make yourself look more flattering in front of the camera.  Most things are simple, quick adjustments to your position, posture, and stance. 

8.  Getting Your Kids to Cooperate.  Rewards, bribes, peek-a-boo, singing, magic words, etc...nothing it seems is off limits when it comes to finding ways to get kids to cooperate.  What I have found is that they need time away from the camera every now and then.  They need to play and have fun!

Even when kids are taking a break, you can get authentic photographs of them!

9.  Getting Your Husband to Cooperate.  Bribes, rewards, compromises...they all work with husbands too!  Include your husband in the planning.  Chances are he won't want to help plan for the session, but at least you are doing your best to include him and make him a part of the session.  No one likes being told what to wear, how to stand, where to sit.  Give him some ownership in the session.

10.  Ordering Your Portraits.  Yes, ordering your portraits in printed form.  After all, you want nice photographs to display proudly on your walls and to give family members prints for their walls.  I recently began to offer prints rather than a disc and the main reason for doing so is that a disc so many times gets shoved in some random drawer and the portraits are as good as gone.  You went through all that hassle to plan a session, get everyone's outfits to coordinate, spend a lot of time on location with a photographer, and you want a disc??  Or would you rather have nice, professional quality prints that will arrive ready to be displayed on your walls?  Every session with me includes an online gallery that makes ordering prints (and digitals if you wish) extremely easy from the comfort of your home. 

11.  Displaying Your Portraits.  Looking for unique ways to display your beautiful, professional quality prints?  This article has several examples that are unique!  When I work on your portraits in post production, I have this very thing in mind.  I want all of your portraits to look uniform so that they can proudly be displayed by themselves or together in a large group.  I view the portraits that I work on as a work of art that should be displayed on your walls for years to come.

The article also includes a few extra tips that don't really fit into any of the above categories.  You can read the full article here.  If you are interested in booking a session, please don't hesitate to contact me.  Now is the perfect time of year with the holidays quickly approaching. 

What Should I Wear??

What should we wear to our upcoming session? 

This is a question that I hear from just about every client.  It is a great question!  Most people don't have portrait sessions that often so when they do decide to have their portraits taken, they want to look their very best.  After all, the portraits from their session will be displayed and shared until they decide to have portraits taken again.  That could be a year or that could be several years. Either way, you want them to look nice.

I recently found an article that provided several tips for choosing the perfect outfits for your portrait session:

1.  Coordinate; don't match.  For some reason, even I'm guilty of this, everyone in the session feels the need to match and wear the same colored shirt with the same colored jeans.  However, portraits tend to be much more interesting when everyone's colors coordinate rather than match.   Shopping for clothes for your portrait session can be simplified by shopping for collections, which tend to consist of coordinating colors. 

One of my favorite "go to guides" when trying to decide what to wear for an upcoming session.  Originally found on therealisticmama.com.

2.  Choose colors that will coordinate with your home's décor.  The portraits from your session will be displayed on the walls of your home.  Those colors should "go with" the décor in your home.

3.  Accessorize!  Use various accessories to add texture to your portraits.  Scarves, hats, necklaces, bracelets, etc - all those extra accessories can help add some flare to your portraits.  You never know, they could also come in handy for some of the shots!  Perhaps a child could hide behind a hat or mom could pull on dad's tie.  Accessories are a fun way to add a bit more originality into your portraits.

The Harrison Family is coordinating, not matching.  Mom has a nice colored scarf as an accessory, which adds texture and interest to the portrait, as well as provides a feeling of warmth.

4.  Watch out for patterns.  This does NOT mean completely avoid patterns.  It just means that certain patterns clash with other patterns.  Certain patterns are unflattering.  Patterns have the ability to pull all the color schemes together, however they can also be distracting if they are not used carefully.

Every member of the Breton Family is wearing clothes with a pattern.  Notice how the patterns all consist of the same coordinating colors and all the guys' shirts have a subtle pattern to help showcase mom's pattern.  This is an example of patterns working well together.

5.  Plan ahead.  If you're family is anything like mine, when you book a portrait session you start thinking about clothing choices and try to work with what your family already has in their closets.  Consider the following scenarios.  You might think Suzie's dress will fit because the tag says it is a size 10, but on the day of the session Suzie is unable to zip up the dress.  It is just way too small.  Tommy's shirt coordinated with Suzie's dress, but Tommy decided to wear that shirt when he went to the movies with his friends last weekend and it never made it to the washing machine.  Now what?  What will Suzie and Tommy wear?  What will the entire family wear?  The session is in a few hours and there's no time to go shopping!  Plan ahead!  Check to make sure all clothes are clean and fit nicely soon after booking your session so you have time to find other options if you need to do so.

6.  Characters are cute...just not in portraits.  Jimmy LOVES Buzz Light Year!  His Buzz shirt is his absolute favorite!  While it is cute and shows his personality, do you really want Buzz Light Year staring at you every time you look at your portraits?  Just like patterns, characters can be distracting in a portrait.

7.  Consider your background.  When choosing coordinating colors for your portrait session, consider the background at the location.  If it is a very green area and full of trees and shrubs, dark greens are probably not the best choice since dark green will blend into the background.  You don't want to blend in with the background.  You need to stand out from the background.

8.  Timeless.  These portraits will be displayed on your walls for years to come and even when they are replaced, they will be stored for others to see in the future as a keepsake.  Make simple, yet classic, clothing choices that will give your portraits a timeless feel. 

You can read more about these tips at Click it Up a Notch by Courney Slazinik.  This article even has inspiration boards for each month with examples of what to wear for your upcoming portrait session.