Making Your Family Photoshoot a Success
Family photoshoots. The photos always look adorable and everyone always seems so calm, but what actually happens behind the scenes?! Usually chaos, a whole lot of tears, frantic outfit changes, and a tremendous amount of bribes.
Recently we had our first official family photoshoot as a family of four. I was honestly putting off this moment as long as I could in fear that everything would go wrong. A photoshoot with one child was an adventure..let alone two. Plus with a child as crazy as Hayes, I could only imagine the chaos that would occur. Though, with Hayes approaching 18 months I knew it was time to finally have a family photoshoot.
A local photographer had reached out to me over the summer and a few months later we finally set a date to meet up to take photos! We decided to shoot at Red Rock Canyon- Calico Basin just a 20 minute drive from our home. Now I'll be honest everything for this shoot was kinda of thrown together. I literally picked out Geordan and I's outfit the day of and both outfits came straight from our closets with zero planning at all. I did however put a little effort into the boys outfits. I snagged the boys button up sweaters and army pants from Target, ordered their shoes for same day pickup from DSW, and as for the Star Wars outfits...we purchased those a day before. I knew I wanted to do an outfit change, but wasn't sure what route I was going for. I joked with Geordan on Friday about possibly doing a Star Wars shoot, when he said he was down I reached out to our photographer to see if he liked the idea. He was in, so I quickly hit Amazon and had my costume, Hudson's, and Gerodan's shipped the next day. As for Hayes' outfit, Gerodan picked that up from the Disney Store on the way home from work. And if you know anything about us...we own like ten lightsabers, and luckily had one for both Darth Vader and Rey.
Geordan and I were honestly expecting for there to be a few bumps in the road and possibly some tears. Both kids had not napped at all. I had tried to drive Hayes around the block for 30 minutes to get him to go to sleep before we had to leave, but had zero luck. Of course. We all set a family goal that if we made it through a successful shoot we would go for dessert! As soon as we arrived to location we hopped out of the car, finished getting dressed, and immediately began shooting. We started with the Star Wars photos which actually went pretty smoothly. Aside from Hudson taking his mask off a few times, Hayes trying to eat rocks, and the heat..we survived. As soon as we were done shooting we headed back to the car for a quick outfit change and walked over to the second location for the final photos. The boys were getting tired at this point and it was definitely hard to keep Hayes still and in one spot. We had to give him a milk break, had to argue with Hudson to keep his Legos out of the photo, and had to sing baby shark multiple times to get Hayes to laugh. All in all it went smoother than I could have every imagined and we definitely have an amazing photographer to thank for that!
Tips to make your photoshoot a success!
1. Find a photographer who is laidback and patient. Dean was incredible. He was so good with the kids, completely calm, and so understanding of the craziness that comes along with a family a photoshoot. He also had amazing ideas for poses and background scenery which made our photoshoot completely come to life! I am beyond impressed with how our photos turned out. THANK YOU DEAN!
2. Plan ahead, but don't plan too much. You don't have to go out and buy completely new outfits for your family. You can make a shoot look great without matching 100 percent. Pick colors that complement your background, but don't blend in too much. Pick something comfortable for everyone to avoid any added stress to your shoot.
3. Bring everything you need for outfit changes, any props, drinks, snacks, whatever...and put it in a basket. This was the easiest thing for us. We literally parked the car, grabbed the basket of everything we needed, and walked over to the location where we were planning on shooting. Having a basket made everything pretty visible and we were able to grab whatever we needed and throw everything back in as soon as were were finished. The last photoshoot we did I had everything in a big bag and it was such a headache searching for things. I had to empty the entire bag on the floor multiple times to find what I needed. Never again. A basket or big bucket is key!
4. Pick a location that fits the mood you are aiming for or the theme of your shoot. I love outdoor locations for family photoshoots. The natural lighting, the outdoor scenery, and the blue skies truly make a shoot come to life! Desert and beach locations are my favorite. I love having a background that isn't too busy. You want your family to be the highlight, not the background. Pick something simple, but beautiful!
5. HAVE FUN WITH IT! Not every photoshoot has to be instagram perfect and super serious. Do something silly or funny. Pick a theme that represents your family dynamic and capture it. These photos are going to be the memories you look back on so have fun and enjoy the chaos that comes with these moments! Be sure to save a few of the bloopers. Those are a great memory that not everything has to be perfect..plus they are hilarious to look at!
If you are a Vegas or Los Angeles local be sure to check out https://www.deansadlerphoto.com/ and inquire about booking a shoot for your family.
Dean is currently having a fall mini session deal that is so worth it!
Book your Fall and Holiday pictures today!!
To view our complete family album of photos click the link below! Enjoy!
https://deansadlerphoto.pixieset.com/christianjordanhudsonandhayes/