How To Prepare For Family Pictures That Are Amazing

June 5, 2017

It’s that time of year again. The dreaded family portrait day.

Can you ever really prepare for family pictures?

Let’s be honest, your youngest is going to be hungry, ripping his tie off, possibly making you pull out your hair. Your in-laws will be running late, as usual, and your teenage daughter doesn’t want to smile.

Your husband is watching football on his phone and it’s “3rd and goal,” whatever that means. And after all this running around, you’re jumping into your car not even realizing you forgot to finish getting yourself ready.

Now that I’ve stressed you out.

This is not every family, but we all have our family portrait stresses. So how can you prepare for family pictures and have the day run as smooth as possible?

Don’t hesitate to be over-prepared.

First, research your photographer options and decide on which kind of portrait style that you want. Check out our earlier post on how to find the best family photographer for some helpful tips.

Next, consider the time of day you want to schedule your portrait sitting. Make sure it is not around nap time, lunch or dinner for the younger ones, or even yourself?

It is very hard to get a little one to smile or sit still when their napping schedule is messed up or they are hungry. Add the stressful new environment, flashing lights, and some strange person acting goofy, and you have a recipe for a grumpy portrait.

Do you love checklists? How about a checklist that all you have to do is print it out and your entire plan is laid out for you? Well you are in luck! Download this checklist to help you prepare for family pictures with less stress.

Once you have chosen your photographer, call them, ask for suggestions.

After all, they are the experts. Every photographer will give you the essential list to pack for the young ones (sometimes even your teenage kids) and yourself. All the details can be overwhelming at first.

If it is important to you to meet the photographer before the session, ask if this is something they do. If your child is shy or has special needs this might be important to know and your photographer should feel it is important as well.

After booking your session, you will have an idea of what you want your family portrait to look like.

So decide on your outfits and get your clothing dry cleaned or pressed and set aside.

If you aren’t happy with the clothes you own but don’t want to buy all new outfits, search for “rent dresses” online and you will find many online retailers where you can rent beautiful dresses for a fraction of the cost of buying them.

Alright so here comes the best part, pampering yourself.

Take some “you” time to make yourself look and feel better before your session. If you dye your hair or even just need a haircut, make sure to schedule your appointment for 2-3 weeks before your portrait session.

Any waxing appointments should be at least one week beforehand but steer clear of any facials. They can cause skin reactions such as rashes and redness that may take a while to go away. Your nails can be done a day or two beforehand.

If you plan to have your hair and makeup done professionally, allow at least an hour and a half.

It’s best to keep your makeup consistent with how you usually wear it. If you normally don’t wear a lot of makeup, ask your makeup artist for a natural look.

One thing nobody thinks of is extra helpers.

Does your child have a favorite person, grandma, grandpa, or the daily babysitter? Why not bring them along as extra help? Not only will this cut your workload for the day in half but it will provide the kids (and you) with a sense of comfort with a familiar face.

Once you have all the appointments and clothing choices made, make a list of everything you will need for the day of the session.

Snacks, messy snacks, favorite snacks, any snacks that will help ease the stress of being in a new place and feeling hungry.

Don’t forget to bring snacks for yourself, after all nobody really wants to eat slobbered cheerios. Also let your photographer know if there are any allergies. It may sound strange but the last thing anyone wants is for someone to spill peanut butter and the next child has a peanut allergy. (I know, didn’t help the anxiety)

Extra dress clothes, after all we did just suggest messy snacks.

You know your kids better than anybody and how they can get dirty in an airtight, white glove inspected room. You can’t really over prepare for family pictures. Right?

Play clothes for after the session.

If the photographer shows you the portraits right away, the young ones will get antsy and want to play. Let them, after all, they also had a stressful day. Even if the photographer doesn’t have a viewing the same day, there is no reason to ruin perfectly good dress clothing on the way back home.

Favorite toys before, during and after the session is a great tool for grownup sanity.

A lot of photographers will use toys to get kids to laugh, and will ensure real smiles or laughter from your kids as well as yourself. It will also allow your child to relax and feel more comfortable in the studio space, that can sometimes be frightening.

You have everything packed into the vehicle, you’ve done everything you need to do to prepare for family pictures, now what?

The night before the session get a full night’s rest. Give yourself time to breathe. Meditate, yoga, or just sit back and enjoy a glass of tea for a moment before you get to work on getting the family ready.

If at all possible show up a little early, get everyone dressed at the studio. This way everyone gets dressed and heads straight into the portrait to avoid any unnecessary messes on the way. Last minute touch ups with hair, makeup, and clothing can be done at the studio as well.