Hi friends,
The holiday season is here! Has your to-do list doubled? We are for sure busier here with school activities, decorating for the holidays and planning Thanksgiving at our house.
Do you book a photographer for your family pictures? This is something we have done almost every year since our first son was born. I look forward to seeing the cute pictures they capture of our little guys! BUT, if you are anything like me, scheduling a photographer is sometimes difficult due to weather, work activities, sports etc….. I know for us our weekends are pretty packed as is, so trying to squeeze in a session is difficult.
Also, with all the spending that ends up happening this time of year it can be an added expense. If you are wanting to save a little money on family pictures then this post is for you! Yes, I am talking about a tripod! Before you click out of this post, here me out on what we did. 🙂
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Shop the looks: My look: sweater | plaid poncho | skinny jeans | booties | Ryan’s look: jeans | same brand: similar button up |belt | navy pullover |Ecco shoes | Boys: sneakers | jeans | similar navy plaid shirt |similar vest | baby white button up | baby similar gray sweater
Before I get started, I have linked our outfits above. My boys shirts are older and passed down from one kid to the next, so linked a similar or newer version. Dressing all boys in navy this go round since I knew my sweater was the pop of color. I chose small plaids for the older two since my poncho is a larger plaid and I knew one of them would be standing next to me. I added a vest for detail on Davis and a gray sweater on Weston so he would stand out no matter who was holding him. I feel like this color palette is the easiest with boys.
Ok, so first up, taking family photos with your own equipment can be easy, quick and not stressful. If you are using a smart phone or camera just make sure you are happy with the quality your device takes. Play around with it in different lightening etc…. I found this tripod on Amazon that works great with my iPhone, but also can be used with a camera. You don’t have to spend a fortune on the tripod, just make sure it will hold the size of your phone/camera. Click here for the tripod I use. I also added on the IPhone attachment, so the tripod would hold my phone.
I found that using a tripod saved me the planning for a certain day which seem to never be available due to traveling and sports. I knew I wanted to take them when the weather cooled off, so we wouldn’t sweat in our sweaters. To start, I had all outfits planned and laid out. I checked the weather at the beginning of the week, and chose the best day!
When Wednesday rolled around and it was chilly, partly cloudy with the sun shining I knew it was a great day. No planning in advance weeks out, just got the kids from school, fed, hydrated, took care of potty breaks and all the kid stuff. We got dressed and drove about 3 minutes from our house to a shaded spot I had picked out.
The most important thing is have everything ready, so you don’t waist time. I set the tripod up, and we started with the entire family since the tripod was doing the work. I set my phone timer, and we had 10 seconds to get it together. My phone was shooting in 10 photo bursts, so movements would be ok.
We did this about 5 times until I saw some with smiles and eyes open. Also, always check “mom” make sure she is happy with herself. ;). After shooting about 3-5 minutes of the entire family, we then moved to any photos I wanted with Weston, since he is the baby and obviously the hardest. You can take these or your spouse, but on some I still used the tripod so we focused on laughing, smiling and dancing in the background to make Weston smile.
Right about the times we finished with pictures of the 3 boys Weston was done! And that was ok, because we got a few cute photos in between him running away from the camera or his brothers!
Next up, one of the most important things is to download a good editing app that you are happy with. I personally have used Snapseed and Lightroom. Both are free apps. You can download on your phone and adjust lightening, brightness, structure, saturation etc… You can also blur the background on some apps as well as crop or zoom in. Play around with the app before deciding on one.
I know there are plenty of apps out there. These are just two free ones I have used in the past and have been happy with the outcome. Example: left image below is unedited, right has been lightened, brightened with a little color added.
Also, remember that this is a photo session and kids will be kids, so that won’t change. Making sure you stick to a small time frame especially if you have small children. Another tip, if you need someone to make your kids laugh so they will smile when everyone is in the photo, bring a friend or relative to be the silly person in the background.
We didn’t have anyone for this shoot, but I could totally see how having someone dancing would have helped Weston. When I took his picture and my husband danced and laughed in the background, he smiled more. Oh, and when the turkey hat danced he LOVED it too! 😉
And just remember! You still will have melt downs and moments, but those pictures are cute too! 🙂 I had a great mini session with my family and for sure will do this again.
TRIPOD FAMILY PHOTOS | TIPS
- PLAN OUTFITS IN ADVANCE
- WRITE DOWN ALL POSES YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH
- PACK SNACKS/TREATS AND REWARDS FOR KIDS
- HAVE LOCATION PICKED OUT
- AVOID SUNNY AREAS SO KIDS WILL OPEN THEIR EYES
- CHOOSE A DAY AND TIME WHEN IT WORKS BEST FOR YOUR FAMILY’S SCHEDULE. *NOT DURING NAP TIME ETC…
- TEST OUT TRIPOD IN ADVANCE, SO ITS READY TO GO
- WATCH WEATHER TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT DAY FOR YOUR FAMILY
- KEEP SESSION UNDER 20 MINUTES
- TAKE ALL PHOTOS WITH ENTIRE FAMILY FIRST
- HAVE FUN!!!!!!
These tips are a helpful guideline for shooting your own photos. Doing what works best for your family is always best. My favorite part of all this was waking up and deciding to take them that day! The weather was right, I was having a good hair day 😉 and doing them right after school before the kids got tired was perfect.
Shop the looks: My look: sweater | plaid poncho | skinny jeans | booties | Ryan’s look: jeans | same brand: similar button up |belt | navy pullover |Ecco shoes | Boys: sneakers | jeans | similar navy plaid shirt |similar vest | baby white button up | baby similar gray sweater
Recreate the look:
Her outfit options:
