5 Ways to Turn Family Photos into an Effortless Feat

There are lots of topics to cover when planning for a family photo shoot. What will I wear? Where will we take the photos at? What will the weather be like? What if the kids don’t cooperate? What if none of the photos turn out? A simple event that started as a sweet, innocent idea suddenly has been turned into a ball of anxiety. From a photographer’s standpoint, these thoughts can be fixed by covering some basics. Here are 5 ways to give yourself peace of mind before your family photo shoot:

1. Know the Use.

A simple base question to ask yourself when beginning the family portrait journey. What will these photographs’ use be? Will they have multiple uses? Think about if you want them for holiday cards, your home decor, or simply social media use.

Know the Use

2. Plan Your Colors.

Think about what these photos are being used for – the holidays, your home, or for your personal Facebook profile picture? If you are having family portraits done for the holidays and Christmas cards think about the feeling you want to evoke for your holiday greeting. What color theme will help you achieve this goal? The holidays are warm, welcoming, and friendly so start with looking at rich, warm colors. Also keep in mind the number of people in the portraits. If you want a rich purple and toned yellow color palette, make sure not everyone has the same colored shirt as it will mash everyone into one. Don’t be afraid to introduce patterns and have fun individualizing each outfit!

Plan Your Colors

3. Talk About Location.

You are having Christmas portraits done with rich, warm colors, but you are posed sitting in sleek stainless-steel chairs and a harsh studio setting. A nice color scheme is wasted when your family photos feel out of place, cold, and unfriendly. Location can make or break a photo shoot. A spot that may not look like much to someone may be the dream location for a photographer. Talk to the photographer about the feel of the shoot you are hoping for to confirm a spot that will work correctly to match your vision. One thing I like to do is to brainstorm places with clients that may have a significance or meaningful history with their family that may be an opportunity to capture as well.

Talk About Location

4. Let Kids Be Themselves.

Photo shoots are a strange and unfamiliar atmosphere for kids. Put yourself in their shoes - some stranger has shiny alien-looking equipment and is trying to make you smile. It may take a while for them to feel comfortable. Often the worry of the parents shows through in their expressions because they are embarrassed at the response of their children or disappointed in how they believe the portrait session is going along. When parents relax, the kids can sense this. I take a different approach to portraits and allow families to just be themselves. When individuals are thinking about how they look, it shows. When the individual is just showing what they feel with the group of people around them, that is not just seen but felt by the viewer. I allow plenty of time for kids to get comfortable with the setting and show their true selves. So take a deep breath, think about those you love around you during a session and it will be evident through your portraits.

Let Kids Be Themselves

5. Trust the Photographer.

When you invest in a professional photographer’s services, trust their skills while at the shoot. As a client, you should not be worried about how everyone is posed or what the background looks like. Leave these concerns to the photographer. With my clients, I review prior to the session any type of specific shots they may be looking for. But, I am always aware that “the shot” they are looking for may happen a half-second after they think the shot has been taken. When guards are taken down, a true masterpiece can be captured. Another important note to make is to be communicative with your photographer from the beginning. Let them know any reservations with the shoot you may have and they will be able to help you through the entire process.

Trust the Photographer

Live by faith & share through fotos.

Endure

It has been challenging but rewarding being able to work with many sweet clients and on many personal projects during the same time period recently. I'm thankful for all of you, to be able to spend a short time together reflecting each other's passions and sharing them through portraits. 

Endure is a short series portraying my cousin, Karli, a caring and humble physical therapist, CrossFit coach, and an inspiration. This series is shown as it would in a magazine spread, and quotes from Karli herself and 9:24 CrossFit coach, Pete Doan. 

Thank you all who were a part of this shoot, whether in pre-production, production, or the post-production, everyone who gave feedback and simply supports these big ideas I have. 

Behind the Scenes

Live by faith & share through fotos.

Senior Photos Don't Need To Be Cheesy

Senior photos. I remember the days when everyone passed around their wallet-sized prints and wrote a note on the back for each of their classmates.

I also remember at least half of the images were taken by a "quantity over quality" type studio, where they put the Senior in the same sitting position that they have for the last 340/340 Seniors. Each portrait is the same type of shot, the same tilt of the head, and about 20 variations of the same pose.

Now stop. If you're a photographer reading this, you're already frustrated, and if you're a Senior or the parent of a Senior, please pause and answer this question... Why in the world would you like to remember your/your child's last year of high school- this huge milestone of your/their lives- by these cheesy portraits that look like everyone else?

As an artist, I get bored of the same old work, whether I am the one creating the work or watching others create the same old work, I just get plain tired. And so I'm tired of Senior Portraits for what the majority of people find them to be, just another checkmark on their list before graduation; I'm tired of the redundancy and the traditional posing, lighting, the godforsaken same backgrounds that just are not natural in any world (please search "cheesy photo backdrops" for plenty of examples), and for the lack of better words- I'm tired of the lameness and the artificial, insincere personalities that Seniors are offered in these "quantity over quality" studios. Senior portraits are about YOU, the Senior, and should be personalized to your style and your interests.

Senior photos don't need to be cheesy. Senior photos should be a memorable experience and a fun way to show and record for your children, your children's children, and even for you to remember who you are here and now.

And for the record, I believe in the "QUALITY over quantity" argument of photography.

Behind the scenes

Live by faith & share through fotos.