Friday Five | Five Tips to Prepare for your Family Film Session

Aug 16

Family Films!

Did you hear my heart skip a beat? These are my favorite sessions. However, some of you are still unsure if you want to bite the bullet and schedule one! Not naming names, but one of you told me “we aren’t fun enough”. Um… what!! Yes you are, and you will love having one of these, I promise.

1.) Just do it

If you think you aren’t fun enough, your house isn’t cute or “done” enough, your family is too (old, young, crazy, boring, normal, fill in the blank), let me put your mind at ease. You are wrong. Dead wrong. You don’t need a Pinterest ready house, family, or activity planned. Proof! Just take a bucket and a kite to the beach and meet me there. Nothing fancy, no special activities, and didn’t even have to show off the house. The interaction with one another, the little voices, the big laughs - those are what you’ll be noticing and paying attention to for years to come.

2. Don’t worry about doing too much to prepare.

•Clothing -Try to avoid neon, tiny pinstripes, shirts with words or characters, and ugly white socks. Neat hair is ideal, too.

•Home -Don’t go crazy cleaning and stress yourself out. A cleared-off table or rug/bed is just fine. You may want to vacuum if you have a dog.

3. What do I do?!

Whatever you normally do with your family when you have 2 interrupted hours of play time with your kids. It almost sounds like a good reason to book me- think of the things you could do with your kids when you usually have to use all those excuses like “we can do that later” and “I’m too busy” or “another day”. I won’t direct you like in a photo session. I may ask you to shut lights ofor open curtains/close sheers if needed, and I may ask you to move an activity toward a window, but I’ll try not to. My only rule is no video games, tablets, TVs… no screens!

4. Don’t over-plan

Some families have a big list of all the must-get-scenes for when I arrive. However, this puts a lot of pressure on the kids. Instead of planning for all the cute things they do, follow their lead and interact with each other in the moment. When families become comfortable in the activity they’re enjoying, that is when I start to see the cute looks, hear the giggles and funny conversations. When we are rushing from one activity to the next, all of that natural interaction gets lost in the busyness.

5. Behavior issues

Tantrums happen. I know, I have two kids. If they are having trouble calming down, I’ll likely excuse myself to get some shots of “things” for the details that will make up your film. Usually suggesting a new activity (snack?) in a new room or area works like a charm. It’s usually about 3 minutes of the 2 hours I’m with you, so don’t worry.