The 5 Things Everyone Forgets Before Family Photos | San Diego Photographers
I’m so sorry; I’ve been totally lacking on the “Kate’s Tips” blogs, but I’m back & ready to give you some more family photoshoot tips! Whether you’re a photographer needing help with things to tell your clients, or someone who booked a photoshoot looking for your own tips, I’m here to help!
After 12.5 years of doing this full time, I’ve learned some things, and noticed some patterns. Here are the top 5 things everyone forgets before family photos.
SHOES: Unless you’re at the beach and planning on kicking shoes off anyway, please be sure to plan to wear attractive yet comfortable shoes to your shoot! It’s so easy as a parent to pick out the perfect outfit for your kids & then forget to make sure they have nice shoes! Nothing ruins a nice outfit faster than a pair of dirty, light up Spiderman sneakers. Of course, I can always just not photograph your feet, but I would prefer to have the flexibility to grab whatever shots I need without having to worry. Cat & Jack at Target has great, inexpensive kid shoes, and heck, Target is pretty great in general for shoes for grownups too! Just make sure they’re comfortable, as we do tend to walk around a bit during the shoot for variety.
NAILS: Yup; I’m guilty of this myself. I was already a photographer when I got engaged in 2010, and COMPLETELY forgot to get a manicure before my engagement session, which frankly is the WORST type of session to forget about nails during. The closeup shots of my ring make me cringe! You don’t need to go get fake nails or even a manicure, just make sure your nails are clean, trimmed evenly, and any polish matches your family photoshoot attire.
THE DOG: I’m a dog-lover myself, so I’m a HUGE fan of bringing your four-legged family members along to family photos! I know they can be tough, but consider bringing along a friend or family member to help hold onto the pup when we don’t need them. My sweet pup, Clover, was our first baby, and while amazing, was incredibly excitable (what golden retriever isn’t?!) and we didn’t really want the hassle of bringing her along to family photos. She passed away very quickly & unexpectedly in 2018 and we didn’t have any chance to really say goodbye. While we have hundreds of cell-phone photos of her, and one shoot of my husband & I with her pre-kids, I wish I could go back in time & bring her to our family photos that previous year. So bring the dang dog. Just also bring some treats & maybe something squeaky.
LOCATION LOGISTICS: Your photographer should help tremendously with this, but just in case, be sure you’re aware of the logistics of specific locations when planning your shoot. In San Diego, we have to consider the tide for most of our popular San Diego photoshoot locations, as some beaches aren’t even accessible during high tide. You’ll also want to make sure light is good at your chosen time. I know your kids might be happiest at 11 AM, but that’s not going to be the best time for lighting in most locations. Most photographers love to shoot during “golden hour” just before sunset, so if you have young children who have early bedtimes, consider doing your shoot in the fall/winter after daylight savings time, when golden hour is early, around 3 PM, instead of the summer when we’re starting around 7 PM! Lastly, make sure you take parking into consideration, and leave plenty of time to park before your shoot so you aren’t too stressed!
HAIR TIES, TRANSITION LENSES, APPLE WATCHES, ETC: Okay, maybe it’s cheating to lump these all together BUT they kinda go together so I’m just going to roll with it. Almost every single woman (and some men!) rock hair ties on their wrists throughout the day. I get it. It’s easily accessible. But it drives me CRAZY in photos, so I always do a hair tie check before we start our shoot. However, sometimes there’s a red mark left behind once it’s removed, so it’s a good idea to take it off way before the shoot. Transition lenses are an amazing invention and everyone loves them… except photographers. While my retoucher can work her photoshop magic, it’s a better idea to just leave them off. Consider buying regular (ANTI GLARE!), non-transition frames specifically for family photos, or even a pair of cheap reading glasses with the lenses removed. That way you’ll still look like yourself with glasses on, but we can see your eyes. Nobody will know there aren’t lenses in there! Lastly, Apple watches (or other smart watches). Some people don’t mind these in their photos, others do, so I always try to catch watches before the shoot & ask the person if they’d like to remove it. Problem is, most of us (myself included) have watch tans, which can be more unsightly than the watch itself. So be sure to ask yourself before the shoot which you prefer!
I hope this helps you plan your photoshoot! I have even more things I haven’t mentioned here, so comment below if you’d like a Part Two!
