Southern Pines, Pinehurst Family Photographer | Southern Pines Wedding Photographer | {How to take the stress out of family photos}

We've all been through it...the planning stages of having family photos taken. Stress levels can range from "I lost a favorite sock in the dryer" to "Oh my God, my college final is in fifteen minutes and I can't find my keys".  Let's face it, there's a lot that goes into these photos, and they usually only happen once a year [sometimes less]! The clothes, the hair, location, making everyone smile...yikes. All of this pressure can make having family photos done one of those situations no one is happy to see come around. Kind of like tax season. Don't let a photo session be your family's tax season! Everyone just take a deep breath, relax...and smile. Family photos are meant to be fun and memorable. And trust me, I can tell when members of the family are unhappy with one another, even through the lens <3

FIRST: Find a photographer whose style matches your own! Do some leg work, people! I implore you to dig through their website and look at every single family photo in their galleries. Does this work look like something you'd hang in your home? If not, move on, my friend. If so, familiarize yourself with their price list. This way, if needed, you can give yourself enough time to save the money needed to skip over the "Family Portrait Kiosk" in the mall and splurge on these precious keepsakes for your family.



Yes, this is an overly dramatic comparison...I took the top photo from awkwardfamilyphotos.com;
but you get the point, right?

     When you make the jump and choose a fantastic photographer who will capture your family's style with every photo, I'm a huge fan of choosing a time of year that is convenient for each member of your family...EACH YEAR to have your photos taken. If you know your daughter will be going through semester tests in May and December each year, put those on the 'no-go' list. If you know your son has football practice every day each fall, cross that off your list. Not that it's super important to be photographed around the same time each year, it just makes things easier for YOU when it comes time to decide when to get those family portraits taken. Do yourselves a favor. Just pick a month.

Aaaaand THIS is why fall is such a popular time of year for photos. I mean, look at those leaves.

     Since you're being a spectacular person and planning so far in advance, when you've chosen the time frame for having photos taken and confirmed it with a photographer of your choosing, now you can plan around this for family haircuts! This might not seem like a big deal, but if you have already paid a $200 session fee for this Thursday, and you get your hair dyed on Monday but come out looking like a skunk instead of having gorgeous sun-kissed highlights...you're going to wish you'd done things differently. Plan ahead. Please. Just do it for me.

     Outfits are seemingly the most critical part of your family photo session. Everything must coordinate in a good way, but not so much that it looks like you all attend the same boarding school. Pick a color scheme. This can be kind of tricky, but let's say you all like [and look amazing in] yellow. Yellow can be paired with shades of brown. So, for a family of four, you can have two members in yellow, one in khaki-colored-ish, and the other in a darker brown. Coordinated. Blues are easier...navy blue and baby blue pair well with that regular Crayon blue. Red, black & white are great too! My family photos last year were difficult and I was a little worried, to be honest...Kyle wore a blue and white [with a tiiiiiny bit of pink] plaid button-up shirt with khaki shorts; I wore a coral dress; and Emmalyn wore a bluish-purple shirt with coral tights. Up close and in person, I wasn't sold on Kyle's shirt matching Emmalyn's, but in the photos it looked just fine...their non-matchy-matchy business worked. So don't freak out if your blues don't match exactly, or if that yellow and this yellow don't look so right. Sometimes, the mismatching looks better than the perfectly matching.

     Now...about those kids of yours. I'll be quite honest with you...I'm a total brat when I'm hungry. And I know many kids feel the same way. One pain-free, easy way to get your kids to cooperate with you [aside from threatening them to within an inch of their lives - which I've seen work, by the way] is to feed them. Feed them before, brings snacks for during [usually for toddlers & smaller children], and bribe them with a treat afterward [ice cream, anyone?!]. Everyone is happier on a full stomach. Especially me.

     If you've done all of these things, you're sure to have a LOT better time at your family photo session, and spend a lot less time stressing about it and developing some of those monster stress breakouts we all get around important times like this. But just in case you STILL get one of those monster breakouts, just ask the photographer to do a little extra touching up on your chin during the edits ;)

An MD Photography edit from the Eicher family session. Sweet baby Sydney & mama Krystal;
Downtown Fayetteville, North Carolina Photography

     Just remember that this time is one for capturing your family's happiness and love. Make these photos something your grandchildren will ooh and ahh over. No, it's not all up to the photographer to do this. A lot of it is in your hands, too. <3

Melissa Harshbarger

MD Photography & Design

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