5 Tips for an Easy and Fun Family Photoshoot with Kids
This Post May Contain Affiliate LinksAs a family photographer, my number one goal is a Fun Family Photoshoot with happy, smiling children! Imagine creating happy, lasting memories with your children, and looking back on the photos from your session with laughter and love.
Getting the perfect, non-cheesy/forced smile from everyone isn’t always the easiest, which is why I created this list to help you achieve genuine smiles during your next Family Photo session! And make sure you share these tips with other adult family members so everyone can be on the same page.
How to Achieve a Fun Family Photoshoot
1. Prompts over Posing
I believe whole-heartedly that prompts, instead of stiff poses, produce the best and biggest genuine smiles from your children. Of course I always make sure to get the standard “everyone smile and look at the camera” first, then I work in my playful prompts to get your kiddos excited and happy.
Prompts as seen below are:
“Okay, you two go sit on the rock. Give me your silliest faces! Okay now let’s smile and look at the camera!”
Because I allowed the children to be silly, the daughter felt happy and comfortable enough to give her little brother a sweet kiss on the cheek, which never would have happened if it was posed and forced.
“Do you like to play airplane? Oh yay! Okay dad, you’re going to lift brother in the air and bring him up and down for some sweet kisses! Mom and sister, make sure to hold on to dad and look up at brother and make him laugh!”
This is one of my favorite prompts for little kids because it gets everyone smiling! The biggest tip with this one is to make sure everyone is touching and nobody’s arms are just dangling at their sides!
2. Let them Explore and Play
In my opinion, the best photos come when you let the children explore and play, and, well, just be children! This especially works if you’re after more candid photos. I always bring baskets, blankets, neutral colored beach toys, books, wooden toys, etc. as props to my sessions so that we can use them and and encourage the children to play.
But don’t worry, I only break out the toys if the children have given me their best smiles for the traditional family photo first!
3. Take your Time
I hear it all the time, “Oh, my kids only last 30 minutes max. I don’t think we need a full session”. Here’s the thing though. If your children feel rushed and pressured, it’s going to make them stressed and unhappy which we absolutely DO NOT want. I tell all my families that my sessions don’t have a time limit other than when the sun sets. We can take as long as they need in order to achieve the images they’ll want to cherish for generations to come.
I often meet my clients two hours before actual sunset time, that way we can chat on our way to the spot, relax, and have fun! It also gives children enough breathing room if they need to take a break from the camera for a little bit. It also gives me enough time to get creative with composition and prompts that produce stunning images of your family.
4. Be Prepared
A successful session starts before you ever get in front of the camera. Prepare you, your husband, and your children first by making sure everyone is well-fed, napped, and relaxed. This is a topic I could write another blog post on, but here’s my top tips for preparing for your session.
Talk to your children about what’s going on!
Explain the photoshoot to them in a positive way. Tell them how fun it’s going to be, that they’re going to get so many pretty pictures with mommy and daddy, and that they can get their favorite pictures printed in an album or hung on the wall!
Make sure everyone is well-fed before you even get in the car!
Also, make sure you bring plenty of mess free snacks to hand out during the session. No one wants a hangry family member!
Plan to get to the location early.
That way you and your family can stretch a little bit, get out some wiggles, change diapers, or wake up from their nap if they fell asleep in the car.
Change into your Photoshoot clothes at the location! (If possible)
It avoid wrinkles settling into your photoshoot clothes
It also makes it so there’s less of a chance of melt downs during the getting ready process at home.
Listen to your family’s favorite music or play fun car ride games on the way there!
Making the car ride stress free is super helpful for getting genuine, happy smiles from everyone.
5. Smile no Matter What
This is my biggest tip for parents!!! Parents, I know how stressful family photoshoots can be. I get it! However, you need to smile the whole time. Gotta tell your children to knock it off? Say it with a smile.
Why?
Because your children will flash the perfect smile at the most random time and I’ll catch it, but if you, parents, aren’t smiling or are pulling a face because you’re stressed, it’s unusable. As photographers we can only do so many face swaps and photoshopping.
It’s my job as the photographer to work on getting the little ones to smile that day. Your job is just to smile and let things roll off your shoulders for the day.
I hope these tips for a Fun Family Photoshoot helps you during your next session! All of the families pictured above followed these tips and we all had a super fun time! Check out more of my blog posts and sessions below, and if you’re looking for a Malibu Family Photographer, contact me today to schedule your next session!
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About Megan W Photography
Megan is a Fine Art Maternity, Couples, and Family photographer who was born, raised, and is still living in Malibu, CA. She is here to capture you and your loved ones in images that you will want to cherish, and pass down to future generations.
Not only is she a photographer, but she is a mother, wife, daughter, and sister.
Maternity, family, and couples hold a special place in her heart because she knows how quickly time flies by. Megan W Photography wants to help you preserve those sweet little smiles, those tender, affectionate moments, and the love you share with each other.
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Hi! I’m Megan
I’m a Boutique, Malibu, CA based photographer who specializes in Maternity, Couples, and families. I serve Los Angeles and Ventura County, as well as all of California. I value tangible, heirloom art pieces versus digital and I focus on quality over quantity.
