How To Help Children Feel Comfortable For Family Portraits

8 Tips To Help Your Children Feel Comfortable For Family Portraits

Taking family portraits with kids requires a little patience, a lot of energy, and some preparation beforehand! Even if your child is normally very outgoing, the camera can tend to bring out the shy part of their personality. I find this to especially be the case, due to the pandemic. Most children have not been exposed to people other than their immediate family. And I have had several clients tell me that I am in fact one of the first people, other than their family, to meet their child 🙂 If you are planning a family portrait session with smaller children, here are 8 tips to help your children feel comfortable for family portraits!

Schedule your family portraits at a time that your child has the most energy

If your child has a nap in the afternoon, schedule family portraits to take place at least 30-45 minutes after their napping time. Although the best time to take outdoor portraits is in the evening, this may not be the best time for smaller children. In my experience, late mornings or early afternoons work well for most kids. Your Photographer can recommend a location that will photograph well at any given time of day.

I also recommend looking into scheduling your family portraits on a weekday – if possible. Most parks and other family portrait locations tend to be less busy during the week. If you find that your child is easily distracted, a weekday will provide less possible distractions and they will most likely be more engaged in the session.

Children Feel Comfortable For Family Portraits

Arrive to the session at least 15 minutes early

One of the most important things you can do to help children feel comfortable for family portraits is to arrive at least 15 minutes early to your session. Arriving early makes sure that mom and dad are not stressed and it also gives your child some time to get used to their surroundings. If mom and dad are calm and not rushed, this will rub off on the temperament of your child. Weekend mornings and early afternoons are busy times for most parks and other family portrait locations. If your session is scheduled at these times, make sure to give yourself enough time to park and to arrive at the meeting spot for the start of the session 😉

Consider a 60 minute session

In my experience, 30 minutes is the perfect amount of time to photograph kids. Once they are smiling and having fun! If your child happens to take a little longer to get comfortable, 60 minutes will allow enough time for them to get acclimated to picture taking. Keep in mind that your Photographer may not be able to extend the session longer. But you can always end the session early if your child is smiling and happy right away. If you are a parent, you completely understand that children can be very unpredictable. With this in mind, I recommend a slower paced session rather than rushing to fit everything into a 30 minute session.

Make sure to dress your children in warm clothing for the session

There are a lot of things that can make kids feel uncomfortable for family portraits and cold weather is one of them! If your session is scheduled at a time of year when it is cold outside, keeping them warm is very important 🙂 If you happen to have a few poses where your child is wearing less clothing, save this for the very end of the session.

Maintain a high level of energy and be encouraging

Another tip to help children feel comfortable for family portraits is being energetic and encouraging throughout the session. Kids feed off of the energy of mom and dad. If they see that you are having fun, chances are that they will as well. Some children take a little while to warm up to the camera so make sure that mom and dad stay smiling and giving encouragement.

Focus on having fun, not posing

In order to make children feel comfortable for family portraits, they need to be having fun. The sooner that they realize that they are just outside having fun, the easier it will be to capture them smiling and laughing. Many of the images that look “posed” actually occur right after mom or dad did something fun to get them to smile 😉 For example, lifting them in the air a few times and then holding them in a traditional pose. Spinning, running, jumping, and making silly noises are also some of the tricks we will use to get your child smiling!

Bring snacks to give them in between poses

Similar to making sure that your child is well rested for the session, giving them snacks can help maintain their energy level. I recommend something small, that does not stain 🙂 I also recommend not giving them an entire bag of snacks – as it will be difficult to pry it away from them! Along these same lines, try not to give them anything that you do not want them to pose with in pictures. For example, a cell phone to capture their attention or a toy that they are really attached to. Similar to a bag of crackers, these things will be hard to take away from them without them getting upset.

Keep Things Simple

Last but not least, keeping things simple is another way to help children feel comfortable for family portraits. Planning a session with a bunch of props, changes of clothes, etc. can work – but there is also a chance that this will overwhelm them. If you do have some props or a change of clothes planned for the session, pulling these out after your child is clearly comfortable and having fun is recommended.

Pulling off a successful family portrait session with children is definitely doable! It does take a little planning before the start of the session and a lot of energy during the session. Make sure to keep these 8 tips in mind for your very own family portrait session 🙂 Thanks!