Family Portraits: Our Own + My Tips

Family portraits. They can be stressful yes? Being a photographer makes it somewhat hard to schedule our own family pictures every year. We have done a tripod, my mother, another photographer, a stranger for one shot even and this year we used my sister-in-law on a Monday evening really quick!

Since getting family portraits can be stressful on everyone involved, here are some tips for getting them done a little more smoothly:

Choose an easy color scheme. This year I chose black and pink, which Brandon really liked considering that’s his wardrobe. Brandon and Matthew already had their shirts and I already had my skirt so the only thing I had to buy was my top (Amazon for the win) and Lyla’s skirt and vest (from the local Rhea Lana Consignment sale).
Make sure everyone has had naps.
Make sure everyone has been fed or bring snacks. We brought Goldfish.
Have a reward planned/give a pep talk. I didn’t say bribe! Whether this be a fun outing afterward or just their choice of dinner- hey that’s motivation.
Keep calm. I’m always great at thinking this while I’m taking pictures for others but remembering to do it myself is tough. Especially when they are being disobedient and you just want to yell at them!
Go with the flow. Photographers love to shoot candids and even when kids aren’t smiling right at the camera, those moments can still be really cute!

Anyway, here are our own family pictures this year! I was able to capture most of the kids myself and then Lauren got all the family for us! You’ll see, I love those candids too 😉