Tuesday, November 7, 2017

10 tips for Do-It-Yourself Family and Children Pictures - by Dallas Photographer Lisa McNiel




With the holidays coming, you may be thinking about family pictures for Christmas cards!

Whether or not you are hiring a professional, you'll need to plan to coordinate their clothes with each other and with your house colors if you plan to display any in your home! If you can bring a piece of art or pillow that has your colors in it when shopping, that will help. Also, try to keep the level of formality the same in all the family members or children if you are just having photos of your kids done.  Don't worry about matching Christmas colors for a family Christmas card. You can easily match any colors to all the array of holiday cards available now.

It's important to not match each other exactly though, unless that's what YOU want. You might want to pick three colors you would like in your home and everyone can stick to those colors. One of those colors should probably be a neutral like the tan in this little boy's khaki pants, or if you're a jeans family, denim can be your neutral. You may want to steer clear of white as one of your colors unless it is prominent in your home, as most of the attention goes to bright white in photos.

If you are doing the photos yourself, here are a few tips:
1. Plan to take your photos in the 45 minutes after sunrise or before sunset.
2. Look for a location where there will be few distractions competing for attention.
3. After you get some photos of the children together, be sure to get individuals of them.
4. Get close-ups and full-length photos both in the group and individuals.
5. If they're little, have them look up at you. It's darling and that's how you usually see their faces anyway.
6. If they really, really, really want to bring a batman cape, a princess dress, or a favorite toy, take a few photos of them with those. They are classic. We have an extended family photo with my young daughter wearing a scratched up pink rabbit "necklace" on a string around her neck. I had her in tears trying to take it away and my sister said, "Leave it! It's a classic!"
7. Feed them beforehand.
8. If they cry, take a photo. It will be funny some day.
9. Give yourself a break if they aren't perfect. Life's not perfect and neither are anyone's children, no matter what their Christmas letter says!
10. Laugh!

I'm normally a senior photographer and don't usually feature my family sessions on this blog, but it's that time of year to get your loved ones together and celebrate the bond between you (and how stinkin' cute your kids are!)

Follow me on pinterest here: lisalovespics 
To see more photos from senior photographer Lisa McNiel, click Dallas-Photographer or follow a DFW-Senior-Photographer on Facebook.














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