how to prep
Load your car and gear bag in advance
Pack your bag the night before or at least 3 hours in advance. This way you can think about what you need and have time to look for things you are missing. How many times have you left your house on a trip and realized your forgot to pack something? Sound familiar? It’s going to happen on your photoshoot day too. Don’t be surprised when it does. Leave it by the door, or better, load your car so that the only thing that needs to go into the car last minute are you and the kids.
Don’t bring the kitchen to your session
These sessions last 30-90 minutes. Yes, it’s always great to have things like diapers, wipes, maybe a change of clothing if your baby tends to spit up in car rides, but leave all of that in the car. Snacks that are easy to eat such as yogurt melts, fruit and veggies. Things that would be easy to clean up or minimal wiping needed. No chocolate, sticky fruit snacks etc.
Location preparation for your photoshoot
If this is your first time to a location, take the time to plan your route ahead of time—don’t wait until 10 p.m. the night before to map it out and expect the traffic to be the same as it is during your 6:00 p.m. rush-hour sunset session. You’ll likely end up rushing and showing up late. If Google Maps estimates a 40-minute drive, add an extra 15-20 minutes to account for getting in the car, strapping the kids into their seats, finding parking, and walking to the spot. It’s always better to plan for things to go off course. The worst-case scenario if you leave early is that you arrive 15 minutes ahead of schedule.
Prepare your toddler’s nap schedule
If you have a short car ride < 1hr, don’t let them nap in the car. Oftentimes kids are groggy when they first wake up from a nap. It’ll take them 30 minutes to warm up again. If you want to get to the park early and have them acclimatize, that’s great. But don’t expect them to be excited for a photo session if you abruptly wake them up from a nap.
I'm here... now what?
FAQ
empty your pockets
People love to stuff their keys, phones and wallets into their pants. I do too. But they look awful in photos. Leave all of that stuff some place else. I usually have a fanny pack that I can hide the small stuff in. Minimize what you’re bringing for the cleanest look possible.
Don't
Bring a giant bag because my sessions are ‘documentary’ in nature and candid. If you’re carrying a bag around the whole time – guess what? The bag will be in your photos. Stroller is there? Guess what? My sessions are about connection and play. It’s about movement, and exploration.
That goes for an extra pair of ‘pretty shoes’ and a pair of shoes to walk in. My session is always on the go and there’s no time for you to change in and out of your shoes. It breaks the flow. This goes for testing shoes in children ahead of time. The worst thing is to ‘break in’ shoes on a photoshoot. Your toddler will be miserable or the shoes will constantly fall off if they’re too big.
a few more key tips
Remove any stickers at the bottom of your soles.
Remove any tags on your clothes that might show.
Don’t wear transitions eye wear to your session. Talk to all participating adults about this too. I can’t edit your eyes back into photos.
Are the travel expenses included in your packages?
This is a paragraph. Click edit and enter your own text. You can make changes like making the text bold, underline or italic. This is a great place for you to tell your clients more about your story and to describe the type of photographer.
Prepare your Toddlers’ snack/food schedule
The sessions are 30-90 minutes. If you’re ok with snack time being a part of your story, then by all means, plan to feed them during the session. But if you don’t want the snacks to take up a large portion of your session, feed them ahead of time. For littles under the age of 1 this is harder to plan for and time is built into our session to account for feedings. If your toddler is over 2 or 3 they can likely last the hour without food with adequate planning.
I can do a whole post on bribes, but under the age of 5, bribes don’t work. If you mention a bribe, they will be fixated on that for the whole session. Or I’ll get a manic cheese-face and then demands for the bribe immediately thereafter. Then meltdown. Just remember your session is about play and interacting at the park. Your child will throw a tantrum if they’re bored, so just keep them occupied and happy. Give them lots of love and attention. If you give them a treat or a toy, just expect that to be in your photos for the rest of the session. Be ok with that. It’s too late once they see it and there are no take-backs.
Candid, real, and un-posed
photography
I’m going to tell you to try and relax. I personally find information soothing so I know what to expect. This way I can plan instead of potentially walking into a minefield the day of the session and being caught unaware. That’s the reason for this Photo session checklist.
Prepare your partner and all other adults that will be attending the session. Ensure they understand. You can send them this post to read, but be aware they might not read it. When things start to go wrong, people revert back to what they are comfortable with (smiling at the camera, bribes, etc.) It’s hard to get people to adapt on the spot and I’ve seen many partners get frustrated with their partners that couldn’t adapt to play with their children. Talk about ways to play ahead of time so that you have some ideas to fall back on if your child gets agitated.
