We have had professional pics taken multiple times a year from our beginning. I have had so many questions over the years about how we get such good pictures with little kids. I’m going to share everything I can think of to help make your picture day the best it can be!

Get Outfits Ready Ahead of Time

When we just had a few kiddos I could get away with thinking of outfits a few days or a week max ahead of time. Now that I have to coordinate outfits for TEN people I need atleast 3 weeks of planning.

I first think of what I want the overall color scheme to be and I choose 3 colors like red, black, white for Christmas or pastel blue, purple, and khaki for Spring or orange, yellow, and brown for fall- you get the idea.

Then, I go through each wardrobe and think of things we already have that would work for pictures. Then I go online (usually Amazon) to search for the items that I still need for the color scheme/photo idea in my head.

Once all the items arrive I lay them out on a bed for each family member and make sure I have everything. It is smart to try on the items that were ordered to make sure they fit before pictures, but I will admit I am terrible about taking the time to do this. Then, I will add a few accessories like a scarf or a hat or jewelry to the outfits before hanging them up before picture day.

The day before pictures I will use the steamer to get any wrinkles out and I will clean off the shoes that we are planning to wear. The day of pictures I don’t get the kids in their outfits until the last minute and sometimes I have even brought the clothes to the photo location and gotten them dressed as they got out of the van. How do they get so dirty?! 🙄 I digress…

I also make sure that everyone has had a snack before getting dressed because we do not want any hangry toddlers ruining the photo shoot! This tip is probably important enough to be in a separate heading, but it is so simple- Don’t forget to eat! It can be easily forgotten during the process of getting everyone ready though.

Your mood sets the tone

Yep. As if we didn’t have enough to do by coordinating outfits and getting everyone dressed- we also have to be at our very best on picture day because the kids will reflect your mood.

My kids can get away with anything during a photo shoot (shhh- don’t tell them) because if I discipline someone during pictures they will likely cry and that does not make for a good picture! And usually it’s a downward spiral from there…

So, stay upbeat and just go with it and laugh and act like a total goofball during pictures so your kids will be happy and will also be at their best for a good picture.

Choose a photographer wisely

If you are going through all the work to prepare and coordinate a family photo shoot you want to make sure that the right photographer is behind the camera so that your efforts are worthwhile.

Word of mouth is a good way to find a good photographer, but also social media. Look at your local photographers Facebook and Instagram pages for photos they have taken. Do they take family photos? Do you like their style? Reach out to them and tell them what you are looking for and see if you find the perfect match.

If you have any inspiration pics send those to the photographer so that they can see what you are thinking. It is important to both be on the same page going into a photo shoot so that everything can come together perfectly with props, location, lighting, outfits, etc.

The photographer needs to know what outfits you are planning to wear so they can prepare the set or location to coordinate. Not all photographers ask for this info, but I have found that when they know this the pictures turn out better because the background is intentional to go along with the clothing. So take a quick camera picture of the outfits when you lay them out and send it to the photographer. It can’t hurt.

We have lucked out over the years with photographers that are excellent with children. The photos capture the kids expressions that are genuine and happy and not staged and awkward. When we find a photographer that we love we tend to use them for all the future photo shoots, too. This way the kids are familiar with that person and each photo shoot is better than the last because everyone is more comfortable.

Practice makes perfect

My kids know the photo shoot drill pretty well. They know that mom means business on photo shoot day and there is no getting out of it. They may as well behave and get it over with. Our last photo shoot went so smoothly and I really believe it is because this is something that we do often enough that they know what to do.

We do professional family pics a minimum of two times a year (Spring and Fall) and then a special family session if we have a new baby. We do pics with just the kids if there is a back to school mini session or another mini session that seems like a cute idea. So, they get several times a year that the ‘photo shoot drill’ is practiced and perfected!

With little kids time of day is important because their nap times need to happen at some point in the day and if picture time is in place of naptime then look out! If we are in a studio where it does not matter what time pictures are I always try to schedule a morning appointment because that is when my kids are rested, fed, and at their best. If we are outside and we need to have pictures close to sunset then I will have the little kids take late naps so that they are not tired and cranky during pictures.

Even if you don’t get professional pictures taken this often, you can do pictures at home and have the kids get dressed and set the expectations for their behavior and then when you do have professional pictures taken they have done the drill before and it will go more smoothly. I will do another post soon about how to take good ‘mom pics’ at home. 🙂

Reward good behavior

Before a photo shoot I get popsicles or a bag of candy and I tell the kids that if they behave and listen to the photograher they will get a reward afterwards. It is amazing what they will do to get a popsicle!

During the photoshoot if they start to act grumpy I will remind them about the treats after pictures and they usually straighten right up! After pictures I always take a minute to tell the kids how happy I was that they behaved and how excited I am to see their smiles from the photo shoot. I ask them if they had fun and they always say yes and then we go home and have popsicles (after taking the picture clothes off- haha!)

Just have fun!

Family pictures are meant to capture the personalities of the people in the family, so just relax and have fun during the photo shoot. The pictures will be better if they don’t feel stages and everyone will enjoy it more. Just have a ‘whatever happens, happens’ attitude once pictures start!

Some of my favorite pictures are ones where we are not looking straight at the camera, but rather looking at each other just laughing and interacting. The larger the family, the more difficult it is to get everyone looking at the camera anyway. You can try to see if everyone will look at the camera and hope for the best, but if that is not happening switch gears and have the kids just look at each other and tell a silly joke while the photographer snaps several candid shots.

If you are trying to get a perfectly posed family photo and there is one child who is not having it then technology can work in your favor and a head swap using a photo of the child pre-meltdown could possibly be used as a plan B.

Family photo day can be stressful. It is a challenge to get yourself ready in addition to all the kids- and the husband- but after the chaos of getting ready and getting to the location and taking the pictures the work is done and you get to wait and see the photos.

When the sneak peaks or previews arrive it is like Christmas and every time I am in amazement of the good photos that were captured among the crazy moments. In those moments I am always glad we do this a few times a year and I usually start thinking of the next family photo shoot idea 😉

Until next time,