How many young kids do you have? How many tries does it take to get a good family portrait done with the kids?

Answer 1

I have two young children.

My idea of a "good family portrait" has changed.

At one point, I wanted them to look at the camera and smile, all dressed up in cute outfits that were neither slobbery nor wrinkled.

However, I love the pictures we have of our family. Our "good family portraits" include one where my kids are dying laughing (laughing hard enough to have closed eyes), one with my then-2-year-old having a ball attempting to escape my husband's lap, and one where you can tell my oldest child is mid-sentence.

They're perfect. :-)

I would suggest, have them in nice but comfortable clothing, usually dark works well on everybody. For a very young child, sometimes, having a teddy bear or something in the picture is better than having a screaming child. If you're child is impossibly attached to a dirty blanket or whatever, let them sit on it. If you have a daughter who simply MUST have the Cabbage Patch Doll she carries with her everywhere, put her little baby behind someone else in the picture, or anywhere where it'll be out of the range of the camera. As in, if your daughter's hands won't be showing in the picture anyway, having someone hold her baby right out of range so that she can hold the baby's hand would make virtually no negative difference, but could keep her from having a meltdown. Same goes for holding Mommy's hand. Make an appointment with a smaller, slightly more expensive place if you can. They will be able to accommodate you for a longer period of time, will have people usually with more experience (they have higher standards) and their wait time will probably be shorter. Also, schedule your portraits on a weekday, instead of Friday, Saturday or Sunday. One of the great small-child-portrait-killers is the long wait time. They get there and are semi-ready for their pictures, then they're stuck in a room with too many people and too few chairs, and not enough to do, and they can't get dirty or mess up their hair or anything... It's awful.

Specify when you make your appointment that you have small children, and ask for whoever is best with small children. What can really help is if you go to the same person every time you get portraits. The kids know the person, so they don't have to try to build a repoire (spelling that wrong). However, if you go with someone who is really good with kids (not fake good with kids, trying too hard.... they won't take him seriously, and if you're in the pictures, too, it'll show in your eyes that some FREAKZOID is taking your picture). Part of being "good with kids" in this instance is to be quick and efficient. They will not happily sit and smile for one shot after the other. Instinct is REALLY important in someone photographing little kids.

A lot of children are scared of the places where they're placed on a table to pose for a portrait. If you think this could be the case, find a studio that has them on the floor instead. Many of your mid-to-upper class studios have these, and tables are more likely to be found in Walmarts or other discount studios (great for babies, or otherwise kids who don't mind the table, but it's true, you'll probably be using a table pose at Walmart) or some of the JCPenney or Sears portrait studios.

Make sure your children are rested and fed and have been to the bathroom. Bring a quiet toy or favorite book for any wait times. Be upbeat and realistic about what you can expect (expecting what your children can't give is not going to make them more likely to give it).

The main thing is to adjust what you may consider a "good family portrait". Think of it this way: any parent knows that sometmes, the "imperfections" in our children are the most endearing. Trying to get a good portrait is like trying to capture a personality in one instant. You could end up with a lovely photo of your family, which has absolutely NO personality. Or you could accept the tiny imperfections in the photo as a reflection of the true personalities of the family members involved. That's why I like the escaping 2-year-old and the 4-year-old in midsentence. It shows my kids the way they are. :-)

Happy picture day!

Answer 2

I don't have kids, but am one of four. We're all grown up now. It took my mom til my parents' 50th anniversary to get the shot she dreamed of.

BUT I write this to say that the reason she never could get a "good portrait " was that she was always trying for "perfection" and this is not possible when people have personalities. I look back on those portraits now and they all look like the family truly was - six people with a lot of life in their souls, strong opinions, lively dynamics. Each portrait tells the truth about the family - at least the truth that presented itself when we were in our nicer clothes and all bunched together for a photo! Good luck! Just let everyone be themselves. In the long run, you'll look back and smile. Honesty beats perfection every time!

Answer 3

I have two young and a teen. A photographer gave me this tip: Only come on a day when all the kids are well and not grumpy etc, make sure all the outfits work well together colourwise, and then have them take the pics really quickly..if they wait too long and keep repositioning the kids they get bored, start to misbehave, then you get awful pics.
I love the family portraits that are taken outdoors with everyone sitting or leaning on each other and being natural...those stuffy ones with everyone sitting uptight never give off a warm feeling.
Hope you get a good one.

Answer 4

I have 5 kids! They are 12yrs, 6yrs, 4yrs - twins and 2yrs. It is so hard to get them all in a good mood and then to get a decent picture to boot, not usually without lots of planning.

Here's what we do:
Each year we have a picture done of all the kids together and then each child alone. I usually make our appointment for the afternoon. I do this because in the morning they are too full of energy and they need to play and run. I find the best time is after naps but before snack or dinner time. However, not too close to either of these or they'll be distracted by hunger. Also you need to allow at least and hour and a half of time - just incase it takes a while, so plan accordingly. I try not to do the girls hair (two girls 4 & 2 yrs) until we get there so they have less time to pull out what I did. Try as best we can to keep everyone in a decent mood while waiting for our turn. Use books, pictures, play the "I spy" game, sing - whatever it takes. Before we get into the room I have already decided where I'd like them to sit/stand. I try to put the ones next to eachother who argue and fight the least. Put the "jokers" on the outside - seperate them. I try to get them all to sit, but if they don't, I go with however they want (sit or stand) that causes the least amount of issues. The photographers are usually pretty good at getting them all in the shot, I let them deal with that. I forgot to mention that I do bribe them. I can't figure another way to make it work, and this seems to work for us. I let them know a couple of days ahead of time that we will be doing pictures. I let them know what will be expected and answer and questions. This is when I let them know about the bribe. I find that they behave better if they have been looking forward to something for a bit. I remind them often that they will get to have the cookie or dinner, usually McD's, if they do a good job. They seem to get excited that way and want to do a good job. The picture of all the kids together we do first because it's hard to keep them all happy at the same time for very long. If we do the individual ones first, they get bored waiting and don't listen too well. We always ask the photographer to just start snapping the pictures. I find this way we get the best results - real smiles not posed. I stand behind the photgrapher and pull something out of my bag and say, "Look what mommy found" or I'll say, "Guys, look at this", and I'll make a face. They all look and if it's something they like or find interesting, they smile. Doing it this way we don't usually have too many issues getting it done. Then we do the single photos. First the oldest, then the next one - the 6 year old. They both are old enough to understand what is expected of them. The others watch and see what they are supposed to do. Then we do the baby - 2 year old. Same routine as before to get her to smile. We do her before the twins because she is younger and has less of an attention span. Then the twins, which ever one we seem to be losing faster - the attention that is. After is all said and done, we go off for our snack or dinner and make a fun night of it. We usually do all this on a weekend so they can stay up later - make it special! We all like to feel special - so do the kids!!!

Just remember, even if you try all this you may still have one child that has their eyes looking the other way or something silly like that. However, this is usually the child that everyone expects to do this and it's okay because that's who they are and everyone will think it's cute. Simply getting them all in the photo shot and no one is screaming is an achievment itself!

Good Luck!!

Answer 5

I have 3 kids and it is nearly impossible to get everyone to look at the camera at the same time. Get some noisy toys to hold over the camera so they will look that way and start taking lots of pictures. You a re bound to get one, just try to be patient and remain calm. It also helps to have someone else's help. Good luck.

Answer 6

I have 5 kids and they are 42,40,38, 34,and 30 I have not got them together to take a family picture yet,so good luck to you

Answer 7

Definitely brown and pink (not purple). And consider pink shirts or ties on the men to mix it up a little and tie together. I love that you will use what you have - that's a REAL picture instead of all obviously new clothes. Much more character!

Answer 8

Well I have 6 kids and 1 of them is only 2 so she is very hard-headed. But I taught all of my children a little trick. When they hear "PICTURE TIME!" they automatically smile and get close together. Go figure!

Answer 9

I have 3 kids. Their ages are 8,7 and almost 2. It only took 2 shots to get a great pic. Good luck.

Answer 10

I have three kids, and we never get a family photo.