Fall Family Outfits with shoppable links here
Updated September 2024
Top Tips for Family Photography Sessions
So you’ve booked a session with your family photographer, but you’re wondering how to get your kids ready? Well, we’ve got some fun and fool-proof ways to get your children amped up. (Or at least cooperative!) Here’s our top 8 tips.
Outfits for family photos
1. Let’s start with what they’re going to wear. Let them have a say in choosing their outfits. If they’re little, give them a couple pre-selected options to pick from – i.e., do you want to wear this sweater or that sweater? This creates some anticipation and gets them involved from the outset. Watch how proud they are of their choices come session day! You can see our Fall Family Photo Outfit tips here.
2. It might go without saying, but sometimes the little things get overlooked. Make sure they’re well-fed, well-hydrated, well-rested, and visit the bathroom right before they get in the car. Content kids equal a fun family photo session and awesome images!
3. Think about setting a reward following your session. Let them know that afterward you’ll grab your favorite pizza, ice cream, or some other treat they love and will look forward to.
Remember, family photos are fun
4. Show them the family photos of others. This could be famous people they see in their favorite shows or movies, their favorite musicians, aunts/uncles/cousins, even their friends’ families. They may realize that this is something a lot of people do, and then warm up to the idea a little easier.
5. If your kids are a little older and into social media, let them know that we’ll take some images of them on their own and they can update their profile pic. Win-win!
6. Simply talk about it. Try to make it a privilege, not a hassle. If you amp them up by letting them know how COOL and FUN these photo sessions are, how much YOU personally are looking forward to it, how you CAN’T WAIT to have new photographs to display in your home and on your holiday cards, etc., they might show up more open and ready to create some lasting family memories!
You set the tone for your family photos
7. If you have teens and they’re not buying any of this, just remind them that they’re part of a family. Sometimes you do things to help out your family – even if you’re not entirely thrilled about it. Ultimately, this will only take an hour of their day and they then can get back to doing whatever else it is that they’d rather be doing!
Trust your family photographer
8. Finally, the most important thing to remember when thinking about how to get your kids ready is your attitude & demeanor. Your feelings about the session will carry over to your kids. You set the tone, so if you’re stressed and irritated, your kids will be as well. Know that you’ve hired a professional and you’re in great hands. We’ll guide you through the whole session and make it as painless as possible. So come to your session smiling, happy, RELAXED and ready to love on your family. Then your kids will follow suit!
Have questions? You can find the answers to our most frequently asked session questions here.
As always, please feel free to reach out to us at hello@kidlettephoto.com
I love the idea of setting an award after the session, my kid is almost impossible to keep quiet lol…he is usually running everywhere…
That’s awesome. We love the lively ones!! 🙂
I never thought of using the social media aspect for the older ones! What a great idea!
Professional photos are even better than selfies!! 😉
These are great tips. Now that my grandson is older, I am sure he will give that elusive smile! Haha.
Now these are some good ideas on how to get kids ready for family photos. Love these tips!
Love the tips and love your gorgeous phot above! The boys are absolutely adorable and I love getting fabulous fall pics of the family! Fall is my absolute favorite season.
These are superb tips! I used to take a lot of photos of children and agree with all these tips especially about making sure little ones are well-fed and well-hydrated to get happy photos
These are excellent tips! Choosing the right outfit and having the right attitude really helps.
Absolutely, 100%!!!
It is really hard to capture kids at that age in pictures. I like this one a lot!
Awesome tips! I find it hard to take photos of kids because they tired and bored easily.
That’s when you bring in the professionals! 😉
This is so incredibly helpful for PREPARING for fall family portraits. Such VALUABLE infoRmation!!
It so important that the littles love their outfits too. This is such helpful advice you provide for your family photography clients in Rochester Hills.
These are all great tips- your clients are so lucky to have you photograph their family this fall!!
This was very helpful!! Some of these things i never would have thought of!!
Always glad to help, Tiffany! 😉
[…] If you’d like hair and makeup tips for your session you can find them here, and we have tips for getting the kiddos ready here. […]