Hello, Parents!
This is the first time I’ve written a blog post for children, but when I thought of the idea, I was surprised I hadn’t done it before now. I imagine you’ll talk to your children about the family portrait session beforehand, but I think it would be helpful if you took a few minutes to read over this post with them or to them, depending on their ages. Thank you! I can’t wait to photograph your family! Children of family photoshoots, this post is for YOU!
Hello, Children!
I’m Jennifer or Miss Jenn; whichever you’re more comfortable using, I’m fine with. I’m the photographer your parents asked to photograph your family, and I’m so excited they did! The first thing you should know is that I love children! When I was little, I really liked art and got my first camera when I was about nine years years old. As an adult, I was an elementary school teacher for fifteen years; it’s possible I taught children your age! I’ve been a photographer for much longer than I was a teacher, and almost ten years ago I decided I wanted photography to be my job so I stopped teaching. I’m so glad I still get to spend a lot of time with people your age though!
Your parents want to have wonderful photographs of you and also of you together. It’s nice to have photos for so many reasons. One is because they help us remember things. Another is because they tell stories. Sometimes those stories are about people we’ve never even met, but people that are still important. Have you ever seen old pictures of your family? Maybe of your grandparents or even great-grandparents? One of my favorite things is to see photos of my parents when they were little. It’s so hard to imagine them being so young! As I’ve gotten older, I think it’s fun to see photographs of me when I was a child. I bet you’ll like looking at the photos we make together later, especially in a few years.
Before Your Family Photoshoot
Your parents will do a few things to get ready for your family portraits. One of those things is to find the clothes and shoes they want everyone to wear. You might have to try on clothes and/or shoes to see if they still fit or maybe even go shopping. They want everyone to look great together! Also, you and your parents might get haircuts or test different ways to do your hair. It shouldn’t take very long to do these things so please be patient with them.
On the day of your family photoshoot, try to be helpful. I’m sure you are ordinarily, but on this day, your parents will have last minute things to do before you leave to meet me. They’ll need you to get dressed in time and maybe help if you have a sibling.
During Your Family Photoshoot
Let’s think about what to expect during your family portraits. Since we need light to make photographs, we’ll start by walking to a place with really good light. As we walk, we’ll get to know each other a little bit. I might ask you questions about school, your friends, or your family pet(s).
When I photograph families, it’s nice to have some photos with everyone looking at the camera, but my favorite photos are the ones that don’t looked posed. It’s nice for you and your parents or maybe you and your sibling(s) to talk to each other and even play together. I’ll probably ask you to put your hand on someone’s back, hold hands with someone, or make a physical connection in some way so there aren’t a lot of big gaps between everyone. And at some point in our photoshoot, I hope you’ll hug your parents and/or sibling(s). Those photos are really sweet and make your parents really happy!
I like to use my camera to record all the wonderful interactions between family members. Some of those may be still and affectionate, and others may be full of silliness and laughter. Oh, and also, I can’t promise you won’t get tickled sometime during our photoshoot. Those pictures are always fun to look at!
Possibly one of the most important things you should know is that I really do want you to have fun. I want your parents to have photographs of you and all of your family that they love, and that means seeing you happy and being your truly kind and wonderful self!
After Your Family Photoshoot
Looking into the future, I hope you had good time, but I’m sure by the end of your family photoshoot, you will be tired and ready to go home! I’ll take care of the images we created and prepare them to share with your family. In two weeks you’ll see your photos!
Parents
If you’ve not already booked your family session with me, please do! We have a great time and produce many wonderful photographs you will treasure for decades! Fall is my busiest season so please schedule soon while there’s still some availability. I look forward to planning your family photoshoot.
You may see other examples of family photography by following this link.
