How to ensure your Photography session runs smoothly - Perth Family Photography

You put so much time and effort into selecting the right photographer for you and your family and then investing your hard earned dollar bills with them, so why would you stop the planning there? Let me share 2 hot tips with you, to ensure your family or mummy and me photography session goes as smoothly as possible, leaving you with photos that take you back like it was only yesterday.

Family Photography Mini Sessions only take 15 minutes with Chanelle Megan Photography. Recent sessions were held down on Scarborough Beach in Perth, WA.

Implement These 2 Hot Tips After booking a Family Or Mummy and Me Photography Shoot To encourage A Successful Session With Your kids.

I get it, in fact I’ve been there too - just the thought of booking a photo session with your kids can be daunting! You worry that they’ll either be too shy and won’t come out from behind you OR in contrast, that they’ll be uncontrollable, running a muck and simply won’t take instruction. That thought that had briefly crossed your mind about hiring a photographer is quickly pushed to the side “until the kids are a bit older.” Just like the many Mamas before you though, I overcame these thoughts and I know you can too!

I’m just going to take a quick second here to remind you that the reason you need those photos in the first place, is to prove that you were there too and with them as they grew up. You need these photos to remind you of those little souls, young and free, because they won’t always be that way. You need these photos to create that legacy for yourself and have a story that can be shared down through the generations yet to come.

So here’s how you too can have those happy, candid and connected photos. I know you’re potentially doubting their worth right now, as you think about those kids of yours and all the running around and organising that comes with them, but let me tell you, they’ll be worth their weight in gold, to both you and your kids 20, 40 and 60 years down the track!

So, My Hot Tip Number 1 ⬇️

••• Plan

You’ve gotten yourself as far as hiring a family photographer, whether it’s a full family session with dad included or a mummy and me session, just for you and those beautiful kids of yours. WELL DONE FOR GETTING THIS FAR!!

Now about 2-3 weeks out from your session, I believe that this is where you will need to come up with a plan of attack. Plan your outfit. Work out what you’re going to wear. I always advise the Mama’s I work with to choose something that makes them feel damn good, but also something that is comfortable and that they can move about in without constantly having to adjust clothing every 5 seconds. From there it’d be time to cooridinate the kids (and your husband if he’s coming along too). Make sure you’ve tried yours on, play around with hairstyles and even make up, beforehand, so that come shoot day, there is no surprises.

Great, now that the outfits are sorted you need to start thinking about your kids. A lot of lifestyle photography sessions are done over sunrise and sunset however, during those summer months here in Perth, that can mean a very early start or a late night for those little love bugs of yours. You might be lucky enough to find a photographer who will cater to your session time requests, or maybe there are restrictions such as opening and closing times at the location you’ve chosen to shoot at, which allows for more ‘convenient’ session times, but I’ll let you know now, there is a reason that we photographers like to follow the sunlight first and last thing of the day. The lower the light, the warmer the glow of the sun is, the softer the shadows are, the more pleasing your final image turns out, resulting in you absolutely loving every single image that gets captured!

So we need to find a way to work around your kids feeding and nap times to give them the best chance possible of an easy session for you all. Adding or pushing back a nap time can be really beneficial, as can an early breakfast or dinner to help fuel the kids through the session.

Food bribery for a session however should only be used as a last resort! Never play this card before a session, or even at the start of a session, because once they get wind of it, they won’t be able to take their minds off it and things can really start to go downhill from here, instead, if things are heading towards struggle street, we keep calm, we work to constantly engage with them, distract them, and have lots of fun or lots of snuggles with them - whichever they’re up for.

And finally plan to arrive at the location before your shoot time. Allow yourself extra time for unusually heavy traffic and waking up kids who potentially fell asleep in the car. This extra time will allow you a moment when you get there, to take in your surroundings, gather yourself and enjoy your shoot without looking and feeling like a frazzled Freya!

And then, Hot Tip Number 2 ⬇️

••• Expect The Unexpected

Solid plan set in stone, right?? Nothing can go wrong, right??

WRONG

I hate to break it to ya, but I’m yet to see a kid behave exactly as expected for a whole entire shoot, whether that’s only a 30 minute mummy and me session or a full 60 minute family session. Kids will be kids, they will change the game on you, stop listening, try to break the rules and test your limits… so what are you to do?

Your best bet is to keep cool, calm and collected and to expect that they’ll go a little nutty. Expect them to try and run away, so expect to be chasing them. Expect them to have a sooky, so expect to be overly compassionate towards their woes.

The worst thing you can do when kids start to veer towards the darker side of their personality, is to fight it! I’ve seen it happen, both in sessions and with my own girl here at home. If they’re going down, then yelling at them, demanding them to behave, and using a tone of anger and frustration in your words to them - well Mama, they are just going to feed off this 100 times over.

Ok, so now you’re left wondering how the heck we handle those situations and get through the rest of the session finishing on a high right? It’s simple really, as I mentioned before, we keep calm, we distract them and engage with them. We let them choose what we do next - if they want you to spin them around, then guess what you’re doing Mama 😜 If they want to have a race, then lets set the distance and do that with them. If we want them to sit down, let me ask them where they’d like to sit and I’ll help them think it’s their decision. I’ll also let them direct and take a photo (with my assistance of course) if that’s what’s going to get them over the line.

My promise to you though, through all of this, is that during our time together, I will capture you and your babies authentically, delivering you with images that are full of love and connection, showcasing your true selves that serve as a beautiful story that will stand the test of time, making you feel like it was only yesterday again.

Be sure to check out this beautiful Mama below and her 3 babies down on Perry’s Paddock here in Perth. Everything I’ve written above was true to how it went down for her - I mean three kids to wrangle right, nothing was ever going to be perfect, but in fact her images turned out perfectly imperfect, capturing everything she could have ever wanted to remember and more.

If you haven’t heard, my limited Cherry Blossomed Mamahood sessions are now open for September bookings. These are a once a year session, held at Raeburn Orchards, Roleystone, up in the Perth Hills when all the cherry blossoms are blooming. Sessions are filling up fast so contact me now to find out more.