Best practices for preparing your kids for family portraits!

Sometimes, preparing your kids for even the thought of taking family photos, can be stressful. They don’t always like the idea and they simply just aren’t as interested as we are! But your kids can grow to enjoy the experience just as much as you! It all comes down to how we approach the idea! In this blog, I will give you my tips on how to prepare your kids for family portraits!

Hey Friend!

I’m Ashley! The heart behind Ashley Aria Photography! Please explore my blog for topics that might be interesting to you! Reach out, and get on my calendar for your next portrait session! I would love to get to know you and be your new friend!

tHE Idea

While some kids love having the picture taken, it’s important to consider that some aren’t as interested and that’s okay! Say you’re a family of 5 and you have 3 kids. Odds are, maybe only one or two of your children are okay with it, and the other may shut down during the session because they don’t want to be there! Well, there may be a way to help that child to be more open to the concept! By planning ahead, a family session can be a lot of fun for everyone!

Disclaimer – If you think that your child will give me a hard time as your photographer, please don’t worry! I can handle your kids just fine 🙂 I have had the pleasure of working with children of all ages and all personality types! Now for the steps to plan ahead!

How to prepare your kids for family portraits in 5 Steps

The talk
Open-mindedness
Positive reinforcements
Relaxation
Making the memory last

tHE tALK

” The Talk” might sound like the “Talk of Doom” but it is the complete opposite! This is where you show your personal excitement about the idea! Rather than saying “Hey kids, we are taking family photos.” Make them feel your excitement about it too! Afterall, it is a chance to enjoy quality time with your family, and slow-down from the hustle and bustle of this thing called life. Show them how exciting and joyful take photos can be. If you know that you have a few kids who despise taking photos, set them up for the idea with a super fun and welcoming tone! This invites them to consider the idea before immediately turning to down! Show them Pinterest photos of some fun family sessions, so they can see all the fun that can be had!

The idea is to make them believe that family photos is more fun than it sounds. Because it is! It’s way more than just posing and smiling at the camera! (I don’t focus on those types of photos! So, no stiff cheeses, and awkward poses with me! I focus on the candid.) Additionally, when your children see how excited you are about something, they typically want to share in that joy with you. Their natural instinct is making parents happy, which circles back around and makes them feel happiness too!

Keep an Open-Mind

We know that children like control. They don’t like being forced to smile for the camera. As a family photographer, I capture the genuineness of each member in your family. So, allowing them to be who they are will help them to be more receptive. You know how sometimes, you let your kids pick out their own outfit for school and in your mind, you’re thinking, “It was a good idea in my head but not on paper.” Or you really just want to tell them, “This outfit just ain’t it. I’m sorry.” Haha!

When we used to run a daycare in my home, I got to see so many… unique outfit choices made by the kiddos that morning before drop-off! (Insert crying-laughing emoji here!) I’ve seen rainboots boots with shorts and a tank top. I’ve seen it all! And maybe we can’t let them wear just whatever they feel like to a family session! But we CAN, allow them some creative control, which helps them to feel included and excited as well. So maybe pick three outfits for them and allow them to choose their favorite outfit or favorite variation of those pieces of clothing! Allow them to choose what makes them feel the most comfortable!

nEED sTYLING gUIDANCE?

As your Atlanta Family Photographer, I love helping you to style your family in a way that connects you to your true selves! The styling of your family makes a huge impact on the overall vibe of your photos! When you see your wall art in your home, you want to look at it and say, ” That just looks like us!” But you also want your child to look at themselves and say ” That looks like me.” When the outfits resonate with everyone, the whole family has a much better experience!

I always help you to style each member of your family with a few different outfit options. You will present the outfit options to the child who you think will be the least open to taking photos and allow them to choose their favorite variation- then we will continue styling the rest of the family based on what that child picked out! Don’t forget to continue reiterating that excitement from “The Talk”! Make them feel special! Make them feel like the outfit they chose is going to make the session look so amazing! Because it is:)

Keeping an even more open-mind

Great family photos are more than just the outfits! What sort of things do your children find fun? What do they like to do? I love adventure. I’m not a stale family photographer! I desire for every photo session to be interesting and 100% unique to your family and I desire the same for my family films! We have to keep it fun and exciting! Do your children have their own favorite toy that could be a focal point of some of the photo with that child? You want to remember this season of their lives where they had a favorite stuffed animal or a favorite car! Do they really enjoy a sport? Bring your son’s football or your daughters ballet dress as an extra outfit! Bring those pets! Consider the pool float in the above image! It brought fun and it brought the action! Your life is a story. Whatever you can bring that compliments your unique story, whatever your family enjoys together, should be a part of your session. Your family session will be more memorable as an adventure!

Positive Reinforcements

Otherwise known as ” The Bribe”. Haha! If you have to bribe your kids for family photos, you’re in great company! I even bribe them for a shot sometimes. But hey, It works how it’s supposed to! Sometimes kids just want to be stubborn for the sake of it. It’s okay! Their stubbornness is just another thing to capture for memories! But in all seriousness, giving them credit is one of the best things you can do! When a child feel appreciated for who they are, they want to continue to be the best versions of themselves! So maybe, relaxing the rules on the screen time, since they agreed to take family photos, will help them to want to participate even more! You could tell them that their reward for being open-minded, is a trip to the movies or to get ice cream! (Menchies is the spot!) Maybe you will tell them that their willingness to participate grants them extra videogame time or something they have been asking for at the store!

It matters!

Whatever it may be, and with whatever extreme you choose, they will likely be happier during the session if they know they are being rewarded for their sacrifice! (Which, they aren’t really sacrificing anything at all because 9/10 they always enjoy the family time. Even it takes them 10 minutes to open up, they DO open up and start having fun!) The important thing is that everyone not only looks happy in the photos, but also feels happy. If your child only appears to be happy, but doesn’t feel the enjoyment, their memory of those family photos won’t be a happy memory for them. So, tell them how proud you are of them for being willing to take photos! Make them aware of how much fun it will be to spend time with them for the duration of your upcoming session!

Relaxation

In short, the best way to create amazing family photos is by feeling relaxed! In the days leading up to your family session, do some fun things with your family if you haven’t had the chance in a while. Play some board games, take a family hike, or do some art’s and crafts together! If your energy has been low for a few days, chances are, your kids will feel that too. Some children tend to carry the same emotions we do! If we are excited, so are they! When we are sad, so are they. If we are irritated, they will also find reasons to be irritated, thus leading to stubbornness before and during a family session!

So, take a few days and enjoy some quality time! You children may have some things they are stressed or sad about themselves! Everyone in your household may be going through something different, so it is important to make sure everyone has decompressed in the days leading up to THE DAY! This will set your whole family up for having fun at the session too. The fun will just continue naturally, rather than feeling forced after a hard week of having no fun and no motivation! I highly recommend giving this a try!

THE day of & The Alternative

Now, especially the morning of the session, be as happy as can be! No grumpy dads! No irritated moms! Shake all of that off! Photoshoot days are the days where you say ” Welp, Cody spilled orange juice all over his shirt. No big deal, time to find a new shirt.” In this instance, you would just go back to 1 of the 2 other outfit options and allow your child to choose between them! Remember, I love to help you style your family in a way that resonates with each individual! So, any of the three outfits presented would turn out amazing for artwork in your home!

Now, let’s say you got super frustrated with Cody for the orange juice spill. Next comes tears. With tears, comes regret and disappointment with himself. And with that comes a sad Cody, who no longer wants to take family pictures. The tension truly is shown in the images! Instead, it should always be an exciting time to capture the beautiful memories of this season of your life 🙂 Anticipate enjoyment!

Make the memory last!

You want your family sessions to be so full of joy, that the next time it comes back around the mountain, all of your kids will get excited about it again! The idea is that if they loved it the last time, they will love it this time! You want to follow the same steps each year for your family pictures. Once you start to get them more interested, they typically wont lose interest! Then, as they get older, they will start to value photography just like you do!

So, it’s that time of the year again to take family photos! Bring back to remembrance, how much fun you all had at last year’s family session! Tell your children how much you love those portraits of them and how much they’ve grown! Let them know the importance of family photos and why you value it so much! Help them to see the how much of a joy it actually is! Those love bonds between each person in your family, can’t be replicated by any other family! Your life is it’s own story! Make the memory of each photo session a joyful one! Ask them questions about what they would like to do at the next family session. Have them share their opinions about the location, the outfits, the props, etc! Talk about ways to make the next session completely different and even more creative! Make it fun, make it creative, make it a memory.

aRE YOU UP FOR THIS SUPER FUN CHALLENGE?

Maybe you were wondering ” How do you prepare your kids for family portraits?” Maybe you never thought about the little details but only about the overall outcome. If you’ve put off family photos for so long, thinking that your children are too young and will be too difficult, well, this is your sign that the wait can be over! The days are long, but the years are so short! They just aren’t little for as long as it seems. You blink and they’re driving and off to college they go! Then they’re raising a family of their own! One of the most beautiful gifts you can give to yourself and to your children, is the memory of the life that you created! I would love to be a part of your family’s journey. As your family photographer, I will capture the real, authentic you. I am honored to connect with you and give you the most beautiful heirlooms that demonstrate your story 🙂 Reach out anytime to book your family session with me or if you simply want to be friends!