The best activities for children for a family photoshoot
Tips for family photography
Family
For photographers or mums hoping to keep children happy in front of the camera. Whether you are a professional photographer or a family member wanting to take better images of your children, here are a few tips I hope you will find useful. Here are five key pointers which I will elaborate on further in this post:
Location
Light
Entertainment and Props
Outfits
Connection
Location
For me, the location for my family photography is everything. The absolute priority before anything else is for the location to be accessible and safe. Boring I know, but it is so important to go in advance to your chosen location and really look out for any possible risks for the children and parents and ensure that everyone will feel at ease.
Boring bit over, you can start looking at the location for interesting viewpoints, good places to sit or great backgrounds. I had come to this family location in advance and spotted some nice yellow trees, some lovely long grass as well as a pretty view over Bath. It was a total win for me. It was a massive relief that it was incredibly accessible and nothing struck me as being dangerous. There was a little bit of a hill, but that was OK.
I spoke to the parents in advance about the location and we agreed that everyone was happy with this too. Top tip, get there early, or check it out the night before as sometimes elements like long grass or wheat can be cut! If you are shooting by the sea pls check tide times too!
Light
The other thing I check when I get to a location is where the light is. For this family photoshoot I knew it was going to be at sunrise, so I wanted to make sure that the light wouldn’t be blocked by anything. I live in Bath which is very hilly, so the sun can be hidden by them for quite a while if you haven’t planned correctly.
If you are shooting in the morning or evening you want access to the lovely golden light. But be aware if you are shooting at midday in summer, you want the opposite! Chose somewhere at the edge of a forest or sheltered from the sun so you don’t get massive shadows on the family’s face.
Props
So you’ve been trying to capture your kids and they just won’t stay still!? Well, props can be super useful in entertaining them. In this shoot I got my forest school craft on! We hunted bugs with these nets, made magic wands with sticks and I even brought some flowers along to play with. Anything that looks good on camera, but also is entertaining for the children is perfect. Top tip is to bring two of everything so the children don’t fight between them!
Think about bringing along flowers, tulle (for playing with & shooting through), pretty baskets, pretty instruments, bubble wands…
Outfits
I am not a particularly fashionable person and have never had a massive interest in fashion, however once I realised the importance of clothes when I took family photographs, my photos transformed. Neutrals are jut amazing to enable a family portrait to come together. Stay away from patterns and stripes ideally. I don’t get on with using black clothes either - it can make it a bit of a gloomy family portrait, but it can also be very dramatic if that is your vibe.
Now I always send out a style guide when a family books my photo session. This has really improved my images as the families get my vision in advance and always turn up looking soooo gorgeous. Coordination is key- matchy matchy can be a bit intense! My pet hate is also neon colours- they are so difficult to edit and often reflect onto people’s skin. Saying that - everyone has their unique style and bold colours in the peak of summer can be so electric and fun.
I just love the autumnal colours that this family chose and magically they connected beautifully with the location around them. The whole scene just came together beautifully.
Connect
Ok so location is sorted, kids are entertained, everyone looks amazing but what on earth are you going to say to the children!? How do you connect with them!?
I am a mum of two tinies, and I have always loved connecting with kids on their level (I am basically an 8 year old stuck in an adult’s body!). So for me it comes as second nature, however, sometimes I am a bit stumped! The best thing I ever did was to send out a pre- shoot questionnaire and really get to know the children I am photographing before we meet. Find out their likes/ dislikes, their hobbies, how comfortable they are with running around in nature, what time of day it is best to meet. All these things will ensure you have key prompts to talk to them about and make them feel happy.
The other thing that can often make for grumpy children is hunger! So always ask for the family to have some snacks and bring some along too (0bvs check for allergies in advance). Crackers or apples are safe mess free snacks. I always call a snack break if the kids are getting restless and then for younger kids I will restart the shoot with a fun activity like playing sleeping bunnies, eye spy or hide and seek. Connect with the children on their level, pre-empt their meltdowns and stop them before they start and always give them a break if it feels like they need it!
I hope this has really helped you for a future family session and do let me know if you have any additional ideas I have forgotten!
