Our last family portrait session did not go as planned. I had designed the set-up (in my mind) for the warehouse studio, Ordered the dresses in multiple styles and sizes to insure they would fit and even decided to go “super fancy” and have my hair and make-up done.
The session was an UTTER disaster. It started when Ranger found something stinky in the yard and decided to rub/love on/become one with it. My last clients of the day ran a bit long. It just went downhill from there. I can’t decide if the crowning moment was when my daughter saw me and exclaimed, “WHAT did you do to your face!” or when she told me she only had ten minutes for the session because she needed to make a rum cake for the following day and the store closed in twenty minutes. Everything that could go wrong went wrong and I may or may not have cried.
The following day I asked for one single Christmas gift from my family–could we PLEASE redo the session. They begrudgingly said, “yes.”
I pondered what went wrong and the answer was simple. I didn’t do it the way we do family portrait sessions for our clients. So, for the “redo,” I treated it just like a family photography session. When they arrived that afternoon at the warehouse studio, I greeted them at the door with a big smile. I helped carry their clothes and showed them to the dressing room. There was music playing and most importantly SNACKS. The lighting and sets were all in place.
We had a ball–just like our clients/friends have during a C j Duncan session. So, please don’t make my mistake. Call us and let us take the stress out of your day and help you have the portraits of your dreams.
Here are a few notes I made to myself aka Tips for Family Photos in West Texas :
TIP 1–Set aside the time. I also make sure to have an extra hour or two on either side of the session. When you try to “fit it in” between lots of events, you are setting yourself up for possible hiccups–events that run long, unexpected obligations for the event afterwards. (Like finding out you are supposed to bring snacks to the game.). This may not always be possible, but when you and your family can have a little bit of time to breathe beforehand, it puts everyone in a relaxed state of mind.
TIP 2–Preplan what to wear and put it all in a closet/safe place the day before. When you have a lot of people, it’s easy to forget socks. Ideally, you lay out every person’s full outfit–from shoes to accessories–on the bed the day before and then pack everything up so no one comes in and grabs a belt that somehow never makes it to the session. Don’t worry, we keep some extra things at the studio just for when people forget things. Life happens. On a side note, if you are saying, “yes, but my biggest question is WHAT to wear!” Don’t worry. We have you covered. Most family photo sessions include a planning session designed to make your life easier where we help you with that question.
TIP 3–Prepare for pure family time. It’s kind of crazy. We have families that tell us that they have more fun and more together time during a family photography session with C j Duncan than they do on a family vacation. Why? All phones are put away. For an hour or two y’all are just laughing together, talking and you don’t have the mental stress of figuring out what to do. Everyone is fully present. To approach this, you can discuss expectations beforehand, but that sounds harsh. Instead, I like to suggest painting a picture with words of what the experience will look like to your family. If you are doing a studio/gardens session at the Cottage Studio the words might look like this: “We are going to have so much fun. Mr. Ranger is going to greet us. You will love this fur ball. He might even play fetch with you, but will probably just make you run after the ball. We are going to get to do some silly things and Mr. Cris will make you laugh. No one will have their phones–unless I have to play “Baby Shark” to make Frankie smile. It’s going to be a great afternoon. Afterwards, we get to vote on where to eat. Then, every time we look at the pictures on the wall we can remember what an amazing time we all had together.”
TIP 4–SNACKS If we are doing your family photography session, you don’t have to worry about this. If you are DIYing it, snacks make all the difference in the world. Keeping chocolate to the end helps with messy fingers. Small fruit snacks like gummy bears keep sticky fingers to a minimum and lightly colored or dye free snacks keep the tongue and lips from turning blue. Consider having some out of the regular rotation snacks for your photography session. It elevates the experience and then when they have those same snacks in the future, they will remember the fun the had as a family during the session.
TIP 5–Have a back up plan. Stress does amazing things to a body. Even when we think we are hiding it, it shows up in the corners of our eyes and mouth. Stress-free eyes sparkle a little more than those pulled down with worry. If you are planning an outdoor, environmental photography session, wind, rain, blowing dirt or allergies can derail everything. If you are planning on your own, have a back-up location planned if the weather does not cooperate. Hotels are often good options here, you just have to call beforehand for permission. At the C j Duncan Cottage Studio, we have many outdoor areas that are protected from the wind. We also have the ability to transition to a studio session or even drive 5 minutes to the warehouse studio for even more options. With a family session with Cris and myself, you don’t have to worry about anything. It’s our job to have multiple pivot plans. Your job is just to look fabulous.
BONUS TIP–Avoid drastic changes on your family photo day. I went to a new makeup artist for my disaster session. Trying anything new is always a gamble. If you chose to use a stylist, bring pictures of what you like and don’t be afraid to tell the artist if there is something you would like to change. This same tip applies to clothing. If you never wear heels, but plan to for your photos, try wearing them a few different times before the session. If you have a new outfit(s) for the session, wear them beforehand to make sure you like the way they feel/look when you move. The overall goal is for you to feel special, but still comfortable for your session.
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