It's time for the annual family photograph. If you have children, especially young ones, sitting for family photos can be trying, at best. It doesn't have to be impossible to obtain the perfect family photo, though, so long as you're not expecting absolute perfection. Here are a couple of simple tips that will help you through your family photo session.
Choose Your Time Wisely
If you have young children, you may be dreading your photo session. That's because so many things can go wrong when you're photographing young children. One way to alleviate some of the hassle is to choose your time wisely. Take the following times into consideration when scheduling your photo session.
Prep Time
You might think that first thing in the morning would be the best time to plan a photo session. Unfortunately, if you have young children—or even teenagers—first thing in the morning might cause considerable stress. This is because everyone is going to be rushing to get ready early in the morning. When scheduling your session, be sure to consider how much prep time you and your family will need to get ready.
Nap Time
If you have young children, they probably have a designated nap time during the day. The last thing you want to do is schedule your photo session right in the middle of nap time—or right before. To make sure your kids are wide awake and ready for photo day, schedule your session after your children's nap time.
Go for the Natural Smile
You've seen the family photos where everyone is offering the same manufactured smile. If you want to avoid that for your photos, here are a couple of tips you should follow.
Avoid the Cheese
If you want truly natural smiles for your family photos, avoid the cheese like the plague. Saying "cheese" before the photographer snaps the picture will not give you the natural smiles you're looking for. Instead, try coming up with a funny memory that you can all think of right before the picture is taken.
Try Fun Activities
It can be hard work trying to get a smile out of a little one, especially if they've decided to play hard to get. To make sure you get the smiles you want, bring along a few fun activities you can play with your kids. Have the photographer snap away while you and your kids are playing.
Family photographs don't have to be torture. Use the tips provided here to get truly memorable family photos. For additional ideas, contact a photographer at a company like Inman Images.
Share
