7 Preparation Tips for your Family Photography Session
A family photoshoot is an amazing opportunity to capture, cherish and look back on your family at special times throughout yours and your children’s lives.
In your past experience having your family photographed as you were growing up, you may have memories of wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans with your family smiling and holding hands - uncomfortable, un-natural and awkward!
Family portrait photography has come so far since the days of white t-shirts and jeans with more of an emphasis on exploring your families uniqueness and a focus on exploring those differences and capture them creatively!
Families have their own style, favourite hobbies and activities, cultural traditions, and each member of your family has their own personality and character. A family photoshoot these days is all about showcasing the feelings and emotions of your family naturally when you are interacting together and enjoying being together.
If you are thinking about having your family photographed or are booked in to have a family photography session already, here are a few handy tips to help you plan for the big day…
1. What makes your family unique?
When your family is together, that makes the experience unique?
What is unique about each of your children, siblings or parents?
Does your quality time together involve a lot of sports and outdoor activities? Making music together? Or just making a mess together?
Do you show your love through cuddles and kisses, or practical jokes and laughter? Or both?
If you were in your lounge room in 20 years to come at this beautiful portrait of yoru family, what would it look like?
Every family connects with each other in different ways. Thinking about a few words to describe your family and the dynamic you have at home is a good way to start planning for your photography experience.
Your photographer will photograph you all together as a family unit and also explore the individual personalities and relationships of all family members who will be joining in your session.
What is it about your toddler/ ten year old/ teenager that makes them unique? What are some of their personality traits? What would you love to capture of them at this point in their life to cherish and look back on in the future?
Putting time and effort into the answers to these questions is what makes a professional family photoshoot different from a snapshot on a family day out.
If done correctly, a successful family photography session will show your relationship and your bond with one another. A bond that will continue to grow and evolve overtime as your children learn and mature. Before you know it, those cuddles and piggybacks with your toddler will turn into driving lessons with your teenager, all the way to children leaving the nest and spreading their wings to lead their own life.
A family portrait shoot is about freezing time at the most important parts of your life.
2. Inspiration
Now that you’ve had some time to reflect on what makes your family who they are, it’s time to brainstorm how you want to see this in your family photoshoot.
Our team will be able to guide you throughout your session planning from your beginning discovery calls to suggesting ideas to help you decide what will work best for your family shoot. Planning ideas around what type of photos you like, best clothing to wear and what props to bring along will make a huge difference to your family photography experience.
You will also have a chance to communicate these ideas more thoroughly with your photographer on the day of your shoot. After all this is your photo shoot and we love to make this a collaboration, so we know we are hitting your brief and giving you exactly what you want.
Our Zest Photography team are here to help!
But what if you don’t know what you want… that’s ok we have lots of examples for you to use as your inspiration.
Have a look at our website, Pinterest pages, talk to family and friends who have had their own family photo shoot, start collecting photos and screenshot them to your phone or create a Pinterest board to send to your session planner.
Pick out a as many photos as you like that stand out to you including images that have a look and feel you would love to see in your home.
This can be a fun activity to do as a family so that everyone feels excited and involved in the planning process. Discussing this with your partner, children and other family members who will be attending your session will make it even more of a special and memorable experience for all involved.
3. Clothing
This is the number one thing that families ask about in the lead up to their family photography session, what do we wear?
Clothing choice can really make or break the look to your family portraits.
We recommend that everyone coming along wearing clothing of a similar colour scheme. This conveys the unity and bond that you have as a family, whilst still allowing everyone to express themselves and show off their personalities.
Even though the white shirts and blue jeans aligned with this idea, unfortunately, white t-shirts are not the most flattering and draws your attention to it being the brightest part of the photo. We want the attention going to your expressions and emotions, not your shirts.
A colour palette is generally defined as a group of colours that are designed to work together.
Cool tones – navy, grey, emerald, green, deep purple, denim
Warm tones – tan, mustard, khaki, cream, dusty pink, burgundy, salmon, terracotta
Jewel tone – deep red, royal blue, gold, plum purple, tree green.
Neutral – grey / denim/ Tan / cream / white
Classic Black – using different textures can be a great way to create variety (silks, velvet etc.)
We suggest families stick to a colour palette which features deeper colours. Try to avoid an excess of patterns, logos or prints as these can also be distracting.
Ok, sometimes there is an exception… :)
4. Culture
Every family regardless of where they come from originally has special traditions and a unique culture.
Many families whose ancestors originate from a unique culture may have special items of cultural clothing or cultural items such as Sari’s, Kilt’s, Traditional African prints and patterns, Korowai, Didgeridoo, Kimono, the list goes on!
Bringing these items along to your family photoshoot is a special way to pay homage to your heritage and celebrate your roots. This can also be a great opportunity for your children to learn more about their family history and celebrate what makes them unique.
5. Pets
For many families, their fur babies are very special member of the family. We see many couples who start their family by raising fur babies, who in turn become beautiful companions to the human babies as they start to come along.
If you have a family pet but were not considering bringing them, maybe have a think about it. For our photographers, animals are no different to young children… let them be themselves and capture them naturally (just bring some treats along!).
Our pets may only be in our lives for a short time but we all know they fill our lives with unconditional love and seeing this love in your family photos is priceless, including them in your family photography session ensures that they remain part of your family for years to come.
6. Props and Sentimental Items
This can be anything from hobbies and interests, to bringing along a special outfit that allows your family members to express themselves. Bringing in some props for your family photoshoot is a fantastic way to portray who you are as a family and show off everyone’s unique personalities.
Think about items you have that hold a special significance to your family, perhaps something that has been passed down through generations - Jewellery, Great Grandpa’s pocket watch, a blanket knitted by Nana, your favourite teddy bear that you regifted to your son or daughter.
How special would it be to look at your artwork and tell your little ones stories about where these special mementos came from and the relatives who are linked to them.
7. Your own Interior Decoration
This is your opportunity to embrace your inner interior designer!
Ask yourself, what look and feel in your photoshoot would add style to your home?
Is the furniture and décor in your home more of a classic or modern style?
Do you have more wooden or lacquered furniture?
What wall spaces do you have available and where in the home would you love to see these photos every day?
What colours feature throughout your space where you would love to display your artwork and how can you incorporate that colour to make your artwork work seamlessly with your décor?
When thinking about clothing options for your family consider taking inspiration from the colours within your home and using similar colours for your clothing choices. This will ensure that your artwork fits in perfectly with the look and feel you’ve created for that particular area in your home.
If you find that the colours and décor in your home are comprised of mostly neutral tones, then a pop of colour in your outfits and props for your family photoshoot is a fantastic way to create a beautiful statement piece, and add personality to your home.
For more inspiration, be sure to read ‘5 Ways to display your family photos’.
We hope you now have a few more ideas and tips on preparing for your family photography session. If you do have any other questions, don’t hesitate to call our team on 0862453150 or email us at info@zestphotography.com.au.
If you are interested in booking a Zest Photography family, couple, modern glamour, boudoir or nude portrait photography experience, call 0862453150 or email us at info@zestphotography.com.au.