Family Photographer

How To Prepare for Your Session

Family and children sessions are full of fun, life, love, and laughter. You can choose to have your session at home or at a location of your choosing (the beach, a park, a field, the wineries, etc.).  There will be a combination of posed portraits and fun, casual shots. Don’t be pressured to try and pose for that perfect shot. Every session is different because every family is different. That’s what makes it so incredible! Don’t be afraid to just have fun with your session. Kids are unpredictable and may not always want to cooperate. That’s ok. Letting them run around and play with you or their siblings tend to be some of the most precious images. 

One of the most important questions you need to answer is… What on earth do we wear? Choosing outfits for a family portrait can be challenging sometimes. So, here are some tips to help:

  • Decide how you want to use your images. Take a look around your house and the colors that are in it. You will most likely be placing your images around your house and want it to look like it belongs. If your room is pretty neutral, some may want pops of color so their images stand out. Others may want pure, natural images to blend in with their décor.
  • Pick your colors. Pick a color palette you would like to work into your outfits as a guideline. A great tool that I recommend to clients is site called Design Seeds. It’s full of different color palettes to incorporate into outfits, home décor, and more. I always suggest staying away from black. Black is business suits and funerals. You want your pictures to express life and love! Using light pastels and neutrals will help keep the focus on you and not your clothes.
  • Have a focal piece. Using your color scheme (or palette), find a patterned piece such as a boy’s plaid shirt or a girl’s floral dress. You can then build around this piece. I’d suggest this focus piece to be on one of the children since we like our kids to be the focal point. That doesn’t mean that they will stand out the most, after accessorizing it will all flow together.
  • Pick 3 colors to work as your main colors. Then you can fill in the rest with neutrals (greys, white, brown, jeans, etc.). But just stick to one or two of the neutrals, not all of them. It's great to throw in a color such as peach, blue, light green, etc.
  • Time to layer and accessorize! Throwing on a cardigans, jacket, or vest can change an entire outfit and bring some of those other colors into the portrait. Utilize your accessories! Hats, necklaces, belts, scarves, hair clips and headbands had dimension, texture and richness to your overall look. Just remember, have fun with it!
  • Split up the colors. You don’t want the same color all on top. Don’t be afraid to mix colors in to bottoms, shoes, and the accessories. Also, you want to split up colors according to pairs. Natural pairs are: mom and dad, mom and baby, brothers, and sisters. You don’t want to be too matchy with your pair or you will blend in together.

What to expect after:

A few days after your session, I will post a sneak peak of your session to Facebook on the Megan Leigh Photography page. Here you can share with friends and family. You are welcomed to tag yourself in these images and share them, however, remember to keep the logo intact and alternations are not allowed. I will select a number of images to retouch for you. It takes 1-2 weeks for me to retouch all the selected images. Once all images have been retouched, a private online gallery will be created for you where you can view your images, download them and order prints and products. You can expect 20+ images in your gallery. If you are ordering a Collection or your session was part of a package, I will be customizing and placing your order for you. Once your order if fulfilled, it will be delivered right to your home.