Confessions of a Family Photographer

Confessions of a Family Photographer | Edition I

Oh the life of being a parent nowadays is one of the most beautiful things on earth. Your children have many new opportunities to grow as the world has been rapidly changing. This upcoming September I’ll be celebrating 10 years of being in business. I’ve captured families all over the world from Texas, Puerto Rico, Las Vegas, and now Florida. I can’t tell you how excited I am to share with you my tips and tricks.

Here is my honest confession of a Family Photographer.

• Not all family photo shoots are going to be easy!  Let’s face it, some families are TRAINED with taking photos every season or at least twice a year. Their kids know you as a photographer already, so the relationship is established pretty well by now. They know when to smile and when to really have fun. Some families however have their photos taken let’s say every 2-5 years are going to need a little more guidance. They aren’t used to posing, acting natural in front of a stranger, or even combining the best outfit options. This is where you will use your skills to teach, express, and truly navigate them. Don’t be scared of these types of clients or families. All they want is to experience what everyone has been raving about your business. Be sure take charge and lead them into the best photo shoot of their lives. Send them a questionnaire to get to know the family better. You can also send them a prep guide on what to expect and how to prepare. Check out The Experience Guide I send to all of my clients.

• Backup tools to consider. When working with small children I highly recommend the following tools to bring during your next family photo shoot. A pair of smalls scissors, bobby pins & safety pins, baby wipes, water, a rattler or maraca for noise, and a lot of energy. The scissors are for those pesky tags parents forget to check before putting on their brand new clothes. Bobby & safety pins is something I always carry in my backpack, because you never know when the wind shifts during a session especially at the beach and you may need to pin your clients hair or dress. Baby wipes are a must, because those hidden boogers and special treats they give the kids to settle them down are a pain to edit out. Water is a MUST to any outdoor family photographer. Make sure to keep your water close to you, because our heat is NO joke. Last, but not least a toy that makes a lot of good noise to grab attention of the kids and parents, hehe. It beats editing out a rattler than a giant cell phone and swapping out a child’s face because they were looking away or downwards.

• They always want quick turnaround, especially during the holidays. Oh this is my all time favorite saying to answer. A few days after your session your client will text, email, and maybe even call to see if their photos are ready. Most of your returning clients are used to your turnaround time. However, those brand new clients aren’t aware of your business process until they experience it first hand. So be sure to express this at the beginning of your booking, during your photo session, and a few days after you have taken the portraits. Constant communication and reminders will be key for not only good customer service, but also training them of how your turn around time truly works. My current turn around time is between 2-3 weeks and can go up during high seasons. I offer social media previews of their online gallery just as a little teaser that I am working on their photos. I recommend to ask your clients if they are comfortable with posting on social media as a common courtesy.

•  Overbooking sessions on the same day. This will happen once in a blue moon, because let’s face it we are only human. Our lives can sometimes be chaotic and managing different photo shoots for multiple clients can become overwhelming. If you do ever end up in this situation just be honest with your clients. Most of the time they will be very understanding and it may even work out better for them in the end. Unless of course they are coming from out of town and visiting for just a few days then most definitely make sure they are the priority. Being honest and upfront with any issue with a client is better than scrambling to fit in two photo shoots at the same time. Try even offering a discount or adding extra images to their session package as a thank you! Again, commutation is key in any business and relationship building.

• Throw out the posing guide and just be carefree! Take this one with a grain of salt, because again these are my confessions of a family photographer. I used to prepare before my shoots by asking my clients what they expected for their photos. Such as any posing recommendations they might have seen on Pinterest or Google. Overtime I gained the confidence and skills to really figure out which posing style fits per family. Lessons I have learned is that we are all different and that is what makes the content so beautiful. Which is why I suggest to throw your posing ideas out the window and try more of a carefree style family photographer. Instead of posing them to look straight at the camera almost all of the shots I have implemented more activities! Such as swinging the youngest child between mom and dad, having the oldest kids do a race off in the water, holding hands and skipping for the girls, and even maybe having the entire family if you have a blanket of course to do a tummy time for those little infants who can’t quite sit up fully yet. Some really cute shots you can get as well is to have a tickle war! This always leads to the family tickling the most serious child to get them to laugh. Once you get them to loosen all up then you can come back and have them in between those shots to look at you and capture those natural smiles. 🙂

Big hugs t0 the Sepulveda family for being AMAZING during our recent photo shoot down in South Texas!