3 Steps for a Relaxed Family Portrait Session

3 Steps for a Relaxed Family Portrait Session

By, Kurtis Landry of Kurtis Landry Photography, Broken Arrow Oklahoma

Step 1:

Be prepared for your photo session. What does it mean to be prepared? The following are a few tips and tricks to ensure everything goes smoothly on the day of your shoot. 

• Don’t be afraid to reach out to your photographer with questions or concerns prior to the session. The more you know what to expect, the less rushed or stressed you and your family will feel.

• Pick outfits at least a week ahead of the session.

• Don’t wear matching colors, instead wear complimentary colors. It always looks better, more natural.

• Make sure outfits fit and are comfortable and appropriate for the session/weather/theme.

• Bring an extra outfit in case of accidental spills or last minute wardrobe changes.

• Get hair and makeup done a couple weeks ahead to avoid any unexpected surprises and repeat for the day of the shoot.

• Plan location and props.

• Be sure to explain to children what to expect. Do your best to minimize any anxiety around the event. Let them know that the day is about fun and creativity, this will go a long way in ensuring that they are at ease.

• Get a good night's rest before the shoot.

• Bring a few snacks to bribe kids with. Don’t tell them about snacks until we need them. It is good to bring toys so when we break apart to get the adult pictures and individuals they can keep themselves busy.

• It is also great to bring props that you all can get together and play with. Examples: frisbee, kite, soccer ball etc.

Step 2:

Now that you are prepared and ready, step 2 is all about having fun. Just being yourselves and enjoying the moment. I am really good about capturing moments..

• Try your best to show up on time. I prefer scheduling my shoots when we have the best natural lighting available. Photographers call this the golden hour and I try my best to take advantage of natural lighting conditions. It doesn’t last long, but the results are always worth the effort to find the perfect lighting window.

• My job is to help you all relax and enjoy the day.

• Sometimes kids will get impatient taking pictures, they may cry, fuss, not smile, throw a fit and that is ok. I am very patient and these moments are worthwhile to capture as well. A memory is a memory and later on down the road your family can share a laugh about it.

• Just be yourselves. Play, laugh, wrestle and cuddle! These moments always look great in images.

• Don’t worry about posing. I will help you all get in the right pose.

• I will introduce myself to you and your kids while trying to establish a positive connection that makes them feel at ease prior to sticking a camera in their face. Sometimes t

• involve just letting you and your family interact with each other while I stand back using a longer lens to capture images without disturbing you. Then we can ease into taking candid personal photos that require more involvement. Reviewing the photos as we go can help keep kids entertained while we move along. Seeing photos and getting their feedback creates an interactive experience which can do wonders for maintaining their enthusiasm.

• Once kids finally start getting comfortable with the candids, we can work on the more posed shots.

• We are not trying to force anything. In other words don’t feel pressured to make everything perfect. Just relax and I will take care of the rest.

Step 3:

Expect that there may be problems at the shoot. There may be poor weather conditions, other people in the area, a grumpy baby or a child who really doesn’t want to be there. We can’t account for every unknown variable but we can always be prepared and have a plan B. 

• We will have a second location set as a backup in case we can’t use our primary location.

• If there is poor lighting in our shooting location, I can handle that with external flashes and strobes.

• If there are too many people in our shooting location, we will adjust our positions. If this won’t work we will move to another location.

• If the weather gets bad we will reschedule or wait for it to pass. Neither are an issue for me.

• We will check the weather the day prior to an outdoor shoot, and also a couple of hours before. If there is a chance it will not work we can always reschedule the shoot.

• Small children sometimes will have a big breakdown moment. This is ok. I am patient and can wait till the child calms down.

• If your child does start crying feel free to try and comfort/console the child. These interactions can be a great opportunity to capture a moment.

• If your small child usually takes naps please try to ensure they get their nap before the shoot.

• Maybe a child will not smile. This is ok, because a forced smile can look worse than a child who isn’t smiling. I always have my camera ready to capture that unexpected big smile. It may not be in a posed shot, but I will always strive to capture your children laughing and playing.

• If we need to stop and take a break that is ok. Again I want to capture the best images and am more than willing to invest the time required to do so.

• Sometimes younger kids will dictate how long the shoot lasts. Sometimes it can be as little as 30 minutes of trying to get the right pose or interactions. Taking a break for a walk or snacks is perfectly okay and a great opportunity to capture candid moments of interactions with the kids, siblings playing, etc.

At the end of the day it is my responsibility to get you all comfortable and at ease in front of the camera.  I love what I do and it shows the day of the shoot. My energy that I bring to the session is I am excited to be there and I am going to have a blast capturing your family's portraits. This means that you all are going to have a relaxed and fun session. I am excited that I get to spend this time with you and your family. I look forward to getting to know you all.  I am very honored that you chose Kurtis Landry’s Photography to capture your family portraits.

How to Prepare for your Senior Portrait Session

How to Prepare for your Senior Portrait Session

By; Kurtis Landry of Kurtis Landry Photography, Broken Arrow and Tulsa Locations

First of all let me congratulate you on this amazing accomplishment and allowing me to share this life milestone with you. Graduating is a once in a lifetime experience and a celebration of your hard work that deserves to be captured in time. I understand how the process can be quite daunting, which is why I’ve decided to put together a small blog to help you prepare for the experience. My job is to assist you in preparing for graduation and making the process as anxiety free as possible.  

But I know we are going to have a lot of fun capturing photos that show off your Personality and your Style. I am really excited to be able to spend this time with you. Here are some tips to help you get ready.

Clothing

• This is the time to express yourself so wear clothes that you love and show off your Personality. This is a celebration of you and capturing who you are today. There is no harm in each person bringing a variety of outfits to provide you with options. 

• Not only should you try your clothes on before the photo shoot but everything should fit well Including being comfortable. You will be standing, sitting and possibly laying down, so it is important to be comfortable and be able to do these things.

• When you try on your clothes and if you don’t like what it looks like or how it fits try a different outfit. Again you need to be comfortable and like what you look like. It will reflect back in the images we capture.

• Be sure to clean and iron clothes prior to the photo shoot. This may sound obvious but hanging garments can reduce the likelihood of wrinkles showing up in photos.

• If you want you can send me a picture of what you are planning to wear. This way if you have any questions I can help you plan what to wear.

• Bright colors are the best for a photo shoot. Solid colors are good and if you choose to wear an outfit with patterns I recommend the second color be solid.

• Sometimes too many patterns or flowers on an outfit can take away from the senior so keep that in mind as well.

Hair and Makeup

• It is better for girls to hire a makeup professional to really step up the look of your pictures. We want to showcase your beauty and not cover up your natural beauty.

• Girls if you are doing your own makeup, take time and try to keep your makeup as natural looking as you possibly can.

• Too much makeup or too wild will really take away from your beauty.

• Ladies, if you are getting your haircut before the shoot, do so about two weeks beforehand, just in case something goes wrong you will have time to fix.

• Guys cut your hair a couple of days before the shoot. Not the day of the shoot. 

• I really recommend that you don't  try to drastically change your hairstyle before the shoot, you might regret your decision to do that.

• Ladies bring hair clips, pins, hair spray and a small mirror so you can do some quick touch ups. (Or better yet a friend who can help you out).

• Ladies, don’t forget to get your nails done a day or two before the shoot. Pick a neutral color that won’t distract or clash with your outfits. If you get nails done just make sure they look tidy and clean.

Props and Accessories

• Props and accessories help tell the story of who you are, what you did, and any special accomplishments. 

• Here are a few examples if you played baseball, maybe bring a glove or bat. If you were in the band, bring your instrument. If you had a car that you absolutely loved, bring that.

• Get your props together at least a week ahead of time.

• If you want your car in the pictures make sure you get it cleaned the day before the photo shoot.

• Jewelry can really compliment your clothing and adds that extra polished detail, just make sure it is tasteful. Too big and shiny can be very distracting in photos. We want the focus to be on you, not on your jewelry.

• Another good accessory is hats, scarfs and Letterman Jackets.

Tans

• Most senior portraits are taken in the summer months. So we have to be careful about tan lines. If you have been tanning make sure to wear clothes that do not show your tan lines.

• Do not get sunburned and come to the photoshoot.

Now you're ready for the shoot and it is the day of the shoot. What do I need to do now?

1. Come prepared to have a blast. I really enjoy these shoots and I love to have fun. I pride myself in helping my clients relax and have fun also.

2. Don’t stress out about what the pictures are going to look like. I will be showing you how great you look as the shoot progresses.

3. Don’t worry about how to pose. I will teach you how to pose like a model.

4. Don’t worry about anything else this is a time for you to just relax and live in the moment and celebrate you and your accomplishment.

5. We will have plenty of time to get the best images so don’t worry.

6. This is also your time to put me to work. Actually I don’t consider this work. I absolutely love taking pictures of Seniors. I love hearing about all your accomplishments, all your dreams and goals. I really enjoy taking the time to get to know you. Because believe it or not you ROCK.

7. Seeing how you prepared well in advance the photo session will be the easy part and that is you just being you. I am just going to be capturing pictures of you that is all.

8. Please be on time for your shoot. We planned and set the schedule so that we had the best available natural light to take advantage of. I can photograph  in any lighting condition , and I bring different lighting tools with me on location but there is no better light than what the sun can produce, especially during golden hour. But Golden hour does not last very long. So please be on time. I will be there waiting for you to arrive. 

9. Relax and enjoy the moment.