I like to make Family Photography Simple

Part of making things simple for you, is making sure you have everything you need before your family session, and know everything you need to know. Realistically, it’s not a massively long list! That’s because I like to make sure stuff is straightforward, and I intentionally eliminate a lot of the stress that can end up involved in the process overall. But there are still steps that you’ll need to take before your family session, that can help you be super prepared!!

The First Steps for your Family Photo Shoot

Now, this wouldn’t be an exhaustive list if it didn’t include the first steps!! And of course, those are… actually getting booked for your family photo shoot. So the very, very first thing you’re going to want to do, is choose a photographer local to you, and coordinate a time that works for them and also your family. Remember to keep in mind your kiddos schedules, how they’ll react to having something after school (for example) and what will line up with your work schedule!

On the topic of scheduling, make sure you ask your photographer what their rescheduling policy involves. Especially if you have young children who are prone to illness, or you’re worried about being able to reschedule for the weather!

So that means steps 1-3 are:

• Choose a photographer local to you whose work you’re obsessed with
• Ask them the burning questions you’ve got
• Get booked into their calendar!

Up to a Month Before Your Family Photo Shoot

So, sometimes I lump this into the “one to two weeks” category, but I’m going to go ahead and put it earlier because I know how difficult it can be to get on hairdresser’s calendars sometimes!! If you’re thinking you’re going to want your hair done or your nails done before your session, as soon as you’ve booked it, it’s time to think about scheduling those sessions into your stylists’ calendars. Now I do have to tell you that this one isn’t required by any means!! You don’t HAVE to get your hair done, and you don’t HAVE to get your nails done. But if those are little details you want to have taken care of professionally before your session, then absolutely go for it!!

If you want to have a session at a tanning salon, make sure that it’s not booked for the week leading up to your session. If it goes… sideways… there’s no way we can fix that in editing!

If this is something you’re going to do, that makes step 4:

• Schedule styling appointments with hairdressers, nail techs, or your tanning professional

One to Two Weeks Before Your Family Photo Shoot

After you’ve chosen your photographer and scheduled all of the things, you’ve got a few logistical items to do on your side in the lead-up to the session!

The first, is making sure you choose the outfits you and your family are going to wear at LEAST a week before the session. This is an important one, because trust me, you do NOT want to be scrambling for clothes that match!! Not only is it the worst thing ever to go on a rushed shopping trip in the days leading up to your session, but it gives you a chance to make sure that you’re actually comfy with the outfit choices you’ve made. So at least a week ahead, choose the clothes you’re going to wear!

This is also when you want to start mentally preparing your fam for the day of your session. That can be as simple as mentioning “hey, we’re going to go hang out at a photography studio on Saturday” to something a little more involved like showing them some pictures from the photographer you’re working with, or even showing them images of the studio space. It totally depends on how your family deals with events, and whether you’ve got neurodivergent kiddos (or adults!) to accommodate!

This means your one-to-two-week list is:

• Choose your clothes
• Get the humans excited!

3-5 Days Before Your Session

Once you get to the 3-5 day lead up point, you’re in the home stretch!! There are a few things you need to think about in those few days. If you planned to tan before your session, you should’ve already done that by now. As a note, if you haven’t, don’t get into self spray tan or tanning lotions. I know it’s tempting, but they end up adding a super weird orange glow to your images, and there’s nothing much we can do about that after the fact – so it’s better to avoid them altogether! If you want to tan, keep to professional studios, with enough time left before your session to take care of things if something is a little wonky.

Aside from avoiding turning yourself orange by accident, this is time to do a last try-on of your clothes (for everyone involved in your session!) and make sure that you also have any accessories picked out that you’re going to wear. If you’re doing your own nails, this is the time to do them! That way they’ll be fresh for your session. When we capture you and your family largely we’re going to capture what you ACTUALLY look like, so things like touching up nail polish, while possible, are a lot easier to just make sure are taken care of in camera. Which means… them being solid in real life.

Make Sure The Details Are Handled!

You’ll also want to make sure you’re happy with the way things like bra straps and panty lines show in the outfit you’ve chosen, as well as undershirt lines for men. These are also on the list of things that are way better to handle in real life!

This is also the point where you should pay a little extra attention to eating right and drinking enough water – I know that sounds weird, but it’s all about your skin!! The more hydrated you are, the better you’re going to look and feel on your photoshoot day.

Then of course, there’s more excitement to build!! Make sure you’re reminding your people about what’s coming.

3-5 Days before your session, you should:

• Stay away from the spray tan, despite how tempting I know it is
• Try on all the clothes you’re going to wear, and make sure nothing has tags on it still
• Make sure you’re happy with your accessories, and that there are no bra/panty/undershirt lines you’re going to want removed
• Hydrate!!
• Keep building the excitement

1-2 Days Before Your Session

In the final lead up to your session, luckily, you should have already handled almost everything!! You’ve got your outfits all ready, your accessories, you’ve had your hair done if you wanted to, and everyone is excited for the upcoming family photo shoot! So that’s great.

But there are just a couple of things you’re going to want to do at this point!

First, is a final check of the clothes, because you can never be too certain. If they’re things your fam wears and you haven’t set them aside, you might want to make sure that they’re clean. The LAST thing you want is a morning-of panic because someone got grape juice on their polo shirt!!

Make sure you have snacks!!

Then, you’ll want to pop together a little bag with the things you’d normally bring with you when you go places with your kiddos. Some snacks – if you’re bringing a wee babe with you, whatever they’re eating, as well as some extra diapers etc. You know what goes in your going-out bag, I don’t need to tell you! But you’ll want to prep that, juuust in case things are a little chaotic on the day-of.

Finally, you’ll want to avoid alcohol and keep going with the hydration!! I know it probably sounds like I’m becoming one of those habit reminder apps, but truly, hydrating helps your skin look healthy and lovely and glowy before your session. It’s a GREAT way to look your best!!

That makes your final pre-session checklist look like this:

• Double check all the clothing things
• Pack your day-bag
• Drink more water
• Keep up the excitement!

To bring it all together, let’s look at the Family Session Prep List in full!

What all this leads us to, is a list that looks like this:

Booking

• Choose a photographer you love
• Ask them the questions you have
• Get booked

Up to a Month Before

• Schedule tanning, hair, nail, or makeup appointments

One to Two Weeks Before

• Choose your clothes
• Get your humans excited

3-5 Days Before

• Stay away from the spray tan, despite how tempting I know it is
• Try on all the clothes you’re going to wear, and make sure nothing has tags on it still
• Make sure you’re happy with your accessories, and that there are no bra/panty/undershirt lines you’re going to want removed
• Hydrate!!
• Keep building the excitement

1-2 Days Before

• Double check all the clothing things
• Pack your day-bag
• Drink more water
• Keep up the excitement!

If you’ve got questions, never hesitate to ask!

I hope this list helps you feel more prepared for your upcoming family photo shoot, I can’t wait to meet you and your family! But if you have any questions or you’re worried about something that isn’t included in here… don’t hesitate to reach out. I would love to help you feel more comfortable coming into the studio, or meeting me wherever we’re meeting!