How to Prepare Children for the Session
Hello Friends! Thank you so much for booking me for your lifestyle family session! I get that you're investing your time and money on this session and want it to go perfectly! Sometimes preparing for a photo session can bring on anxiety, so here are a few tips for you to help prepare your kiddos for them!
1. Trust your photographer! Lifestyle photography gives us the freedom to relax and let go of perfection. My job isn't to make you look perfect or to make your children behave perfectly. My job is to show you that your children are just perfect just the way they are! I won't expect your child to smile and take direction during the session, I just want them to be themselves!
2. Let them know what is going to happen! It's important to be upfront with children! As the session date nears, let them know a friend will be taking your photos, let them know where you will be going and that you're going to have fun and play while I take your photos. Let them know that I'll be asking you to stand or sit in certain ways and that you expect them to be in those photos. And let them know it won't take very long.
3. Show them old family photos, whether from albums or from your phone gallery. My kids love looking at old photos of themselves so sometimes this will help get them pumped up to create more photos!
4. Make sure that they are fed and rested. Feed them dinner/breakfast or a big snack before the session so they aren't hangry. Hungry kids are never easy to work with. (Also make sure you are fed and rested!)
5. Show them my photo on my website. This makes me more "human" and even if you show them my Instagram feed and they see photos of my children it can help put them at ease.
6. Offer them a reward for tolerating the session the day of. Maybe something small such as, "maybe if the session goes well for all of us we can spend some time after playing at the park!" Something small that you can all experience as a family.
7. Remember, children feed off our energy, so definitely prepare your children, but also prepare yourselves! If they see "Mom and Dad are frustrated because I won't smile," they definitely will not smile for the camera! Remember that my style is laid back.
Let's have fun and create magical photos together! I can't wait to see you and the family at the session!
Erica