If you’d like to see some examples of “what to wear” please check out my What to Wear Pinterest Page.
A FEW OTHER THOUGHTS & TIPS FOR YOUR FAMILY SESSION
Regarding the Above Infographic… The tips and suggestions above are just that. Suggestions. You should wear something that shows your unique style. Wear something you love. Wear something that you feel good in.
Regarding Behavior… Kids have minds of their own so not every shot will work out and that’s okay. I will try something for a while and if it’s not working out then I move on to something else. NO big deal. I shoot A LOT of images at my sessions. A child’s shyness or silliness is age-appropriate and they’re not misbehaving. Believe me I’ve seen it all and I try to keep things lighthearted and I ask parents to try to do the same. Kids can definitely pick up on their parent’s stress level.
Regarding Bribes and Rewards… Bribing a child before a session almost never works for a couple of reasons. First, by offering a reward before the session you are sending your child the message that, “this is going to be an awful experience, so awful that I’m going to have to take you for ice cream/buy you a toy to make it up to you.” Children under the age of 5 or 6 don’t really understand the concept of delayed gratification which makes the reward ineffective and can quickly turn to threats, “Oh well, no ice cream!” Which just makes the child upset. It also makes the child focus on the END of the session. “Let’s get this over with so I can get my ice cream.” IF any bribe is needed then it should be something very small that can be given immediately after we get that one shot and even then I only use that towards the very end of the session if at all. Otherwise they are looking for the bribe throughout the session. Believe it or not most children are capable of participating in the session without a bribe of any kind.
Let’s present this as something that’s going to be fun for the family. Making comments like “this is super important to Mommy and Daddy so we need you to cooperate” is just giving the child complete control over the session. What’s more helpful are comments like, “We’re going to see Miss Katherine today. She’s going to play some games and take some pictures of us. It’s going to be fun!” Keep it light. Come prepared to play and joke around with the kids. I want families to interact with each other, keep it touchy-feely, kid around and have fun together. Let’s keep it natural, casual & fun!
Regarding Comfort… Please make sure children have tried on their cloths prior to the session so any problems can be addressed. Make sure they are wearing something seasonally appropriate. Cold children are not happy children. Make sure everyone has eaten (including Dad) so no one is “hangry”. If we need to take a break from shooting for some water or a snuggle then I’m happy to do that.
Now let’s have some fun and capture some great memories!
xoxo,
Katherine Chambers
