3 Tips for Family Pictures with Young Kids

We all know the many, many reasons to schedule family pictures with young kids. I don’t think you need me to tell you how special this stage is. It’s worth capturing! But I do think you might want a few of my pro-tips for planning your photo sessions with your young children.

1. Be Realistic

   Your little angels will not behave the whole time. They will be a little nervous around me. They will act shy or ham it up. They will not cooperate. They will likely throw a tantrum. They will definitely fall down and get dirt on their white tights.

   That’s the bad news. The good news? There isn’t any! Ha! But seriously, there isn’t a magic wand I can wave that makes them feel comfortable around the lady with the camera. There isn’t a washing machine out there in the woods that we can use real quick for those dirty tights. The reality of sessions with little kids is that these things happen. Every session. Sometimes many of the above list happen all within the first 10 minutes.

   If you aren’t realistic about your expectations, you will get flustered, upset, sweaty and irritated. I know because, guys.. I am a mom too! I have been there. This is an investment. You’ve spent good money and precious time to come get your pictures taken, and you want it to be perfect. The cold hard truth is, it just won’t be perfect. Nothing is perfect ever! I promise though, you will still get amazing pictures of your family. I guarantee it! Which leads me to my next tip.

2. Trust Me

   Oh, how I love working with the moms and dads that trust me. Not just your average trust, either. I’m talking about the ones that really trust me. If you are the type of person that wants to show me a lot of Pinterest photos, ask me to stand in a certain spot or capture a certain background, hey, I am here for it. BUT if you throw all that out and just trust me… oh those sessions are so full of magic.

   Little lady immediately fell down during this session, and mom said two of the most amazing sentences. “It’s real life!” and “I trust you!” She didn't even ask me to edit out each little speck of dirt on her knee. Bet you didn’t even notice those little specks either, did you! They are there, but who cares? Right?

3. Don’t Force It

   I have ideas, you have ideas. I try some things during sessions to get smiles and those little kids just stare me down. It won’t phase me. I will try something new! Don’t keep trying to get them to do the thing I have asked for… I’ve already moved on. The very worst thing you can do is point at the camera and tell them to smile. I have thousands of pictures of moms and dads pointing at the camera, snapping and ruining photos. If you just engage with them while they are looking off in the distance or smile at them if they are looking at you… now that’s a good photo! Don’t force them to do things during these sessions. You will be so much happier with your gallery! Promise.

I hope this blog post leave you a little more confident to schedule a family photo session with your little ones. It’s going to be great!

I asked Amy what her favorite photo was and this was what she said:

Favorite Image

You're asking me to choose ONE favorite?!  This is really hard for me, but I think it is the one of the four of us that is below.  I love the smiles, the togetherness, and how natural it looks.  It also captures this phase of life so perfectly (lots of laughs and kids on top of you all the time!).