There’s no denying that any family session will also come with some level of stress from the parents. Photos are a huge investment and so it’s normal to feel panicked about what to wear, or how your children are behaving or ensuring that you get “at least a few good pictures of everyone smiling” from the session. In my experience photographing family sessions the most successful ones are planned ahead of time including outfits, location and preparation for the kids. My biggest piece of advice for parents during their family session is to just let the kids be. The more that you try to control them or force emotions from them, the less they will want to do what you want. Instead, focus on things that you love to do together as a family and figure out how to incorporate that into a session. Let your kids know what they can expect before they even show up so that it’s not a huge surprise to have someone there photographing them. Lastly, embrace the chaos! Your family session is a memorable experience with so much opportunity to make new memories together, ones that you’ll cherish forever.

Here are a few tips to help you prepare for your family session so that you can make the most of your time with your photographer:

Plan outfits ahead of time

When choosing your outfits, remember that comfort is key. Focus on warm, earth tones that complement one another and the environment that you’re shooting in. Don’t leave the selection of your outfits until the last minute as it’s important to make sure that everyone matches. I would suggest waiting until the very last minute to change the kids into their clothes. It wouldn’t hurt to bring a backup outfit or two, just in case! Choose your clothing first based on what you would wear and then select clothing for the kids. Chances are, it will be way easier to find something for them that matches you, rather than the other way around. If you’re struggling with what to wear, check out my blog post Choosing What to Wear For Your photo Session. Your family session is supposed to be fun so avoid anything that could deter from that!

Choose a location that works

With these types of sessions, I love taking families somewhere that’s extremely open. Not only does it allow the kids room to move around but it also eliminates them from feeling confined to one area. Depending on what your vibe for the session is, can help determine where to go! I always recommend somewhere that has lots of room for the kids to explore and move around. The best way to get those natural looking images with your family session is to keep yourselves moving. Whether that’s walking together, piggy-back rides or tickle fights. Remember that your kids will feed off your energy so rather than forcing them to smile or scolding them for not standing straight, talk about how much fun you’re having and natural reactions will follow!

Prepare the kids

Communicating with your children ahead of time is the key to a great session. You could say, “We are going to go to a special spot and hang out as a family and there will be a photographer there to take pictures of us. It might be boring at times, but we just have to listen to the photographer and have fun.” During your session, it’s so important to remember that kids are busy humans so asking them to stand still for a long period of time won’t make them happy. It’s always my goal with every family session to create a ton of movement that allows for natural reactions as well as getting ones with everyone smiling at me. When in doubt, lean into your partner and let the chaos happen. It’s so important to remember that there’s no special instructions or specific poses for family sessions. Your session should document how your family interacts together which will make the images feel that much more special. It’s extremely nerve wracking as a parent to feel like you’re ‘messing up’ if your kids cry or aren’t listening but that’s not the case at all. When your session goes smoothly, consider rewarding them with ice cream or a pizza party afterwards for doing such a good job. This can also create a positive reinforcement for the next time your family has photos taken!

Embrace the chaos

It’s easy for parents to feel like they are doing something wrong if their kids are running around or if they’re distracted by something in the environment but that’s not the case at all. Trust your photographer and let them do their thing. Chances are, they have a ton of experience taking photos for families and directing kids. More often than not, the images that mean the most to the family are the ones that were taken when they didn’t even know it. If those kinds of images are important to you, you can help to achieve them by interacting directly with your kids. You can do this through sharing a story, snuggling with them, tickling them, or playing a game such as telephone or tag. Whenever you’re in doubt, focus on the connection between you and your partner or the one between you and your children. If you prepare yourself ahead of time for a potential meltdown or chaos, then you can regulate your emotions to just roll with it. Your photographer will step in whenever they need so you just do you! At the end of the day, your photographer will ensure that there’s plenty of candids as a family and also ones where everyone is smiling.

Aside from getting pictures together, it’s also a fun way to make new memories together as a family, and have them documented. Your family session will be special to you no matter what because these are your moments and your memories and this is exactly how it should be remembered. Focus on the connection that you and your family share and your images will reflect that.

If you loved this post and want to save it for future reference, follow this link and pin it to your family session board.