Worried about your session? Don’t fear, I have all the tips for making it easy and fun.

Let’s get ready for creative and candid family photos!

PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH YOUR SPOUSE! ;)

The day before:

1. Get your outfits ready. If you’ve bought new clothes for the kids make sure you have them try them on - we don’t want any game time surprises.

2. Give your kids a heads up. Start talking about how we’re going to have a fun day with your friend Sarah who will be taking pictures, so they can start to feel comfortable with it.

The day of:

1. If you’re able to, give yourself extra time to get ready so that you aren’t feeling rushed and frustrated at how slow your kids get dressed (or schedule a “wake up” session and I’ll come and capture you snuggling in your jammies and drinking coffee.)

2. Get everyone a snack and/or bring one along with you!

3. Bye bye screens. I recommend keeping kids off of screens for at least half an hour prior to the session/on the way to the session, so that they aren’t feeling dysregulated at the start.

4. Take a minute to connect with your family. Remind your partner that their only job is to play with and focus on their kids during the session. No phony smiles or stares into the camera. Remind yourself that your kids don’t need to cooperate - I’m here to capture their unique personalities.

MOST IMPORTANTLY:

Remember why we are doing this. This is an opportunity to pay deep attention to your favorite people, with no distractions. How rare and special is that? Try to approach the session peacefully. To me that means preparing in advance, not rushing right before, and being kind with your loved ones. If your kids are in bad moods, I’ll get them turned around. I’ve got you! Relax and get ready for a fun time.

Special instructions for sessions at home… open curtains and turn off artificial lights. Feel free to pump up the jams. That’s it.

No, you don’t need to clean! If you want to pick up a little clutter, that’s fine, but remember we’re attempting to capture this season of life, and that includes the bottles, toys, blankies, books, baskets of laundry (never-ending laundry!) that you’ll want to remember a decade from now when life looks and feels completely different.

Special instructions for outdoors… you’ll want to bring a few things with you to make life easier, including snacks, diapers, wipes, hairbrush, a change of clothes for littles if they’re prone to accidents or are mud magnets. Bring along dresses that get wrinkly and have kids change in the parking lot. Water and bug spray in the summer is a must. Make the kids go potty prior to heading out for your session ;)

Planning a newborn session? Specific details about what to expect can be found here.

a reminder about:

What to Wear

Ahhh, the hardest part. I have three ground rules (and many many tips, which I’ll get into in a sec):

  1. Be yourself. Don’t look back on your photos to see a group of strangers.

  2. Dress to move and play (skip tight, short dresses/skirts and high heels, be mindful of low necklines as I shoot from above quite frequently).

  3. Consider your location and seek to complement it.

THE DON’Ts

There are a few things I think you should skip in order to have the most beautiful photos:

*Excessive dark clothing (it creates voids in your images and reflects no light onto your skin)

*Neon yellows/greens - they WILL reflect onto your skin in an unflattering way

*Smart watches - I personally don’t want to see a screen in my images, it takes away from the timeless feel, but I won’t fight you on it ;)

*Very thin stripes - they create a strange visual effect when viewed digitally.

*Avoid large, distracting bows or other items that may irritate your child during the session.

*I mean this in the nicest way, but don’t bring your cell phone. You won’t need it during our time together and we don’t want to see it in your pocket :)

THE DOs

*Dress at least one person in a pattern to add visual interest. Use the colors in the pattern as your palette for the remaining outfits.

*Once you have your palette, MOM - you pick your outfit first. It is most important to me that you look and feel your best during your session. You can dress everyone else around you.

*Consider showing some skin. Here me out - skin to skin is a visual shortcut to intimacy. My favorite maternity, newborn and family images with young children are ones where arms and legs and toes and bodies are all mingled together in a snuggly embrace.

*Include a variety of textures in your clothing to create a greater visual dynamic.

*If your child likes a lot of control over what they wear: pick out a couple of outfits beforehand, and let them select one. For older children, let them select from a range of colors.