Family Photos
Tips and Tricks for making the most of your family photos this season
I absolutely love family photos. Every fall, I round up the gang and despite complaining, arrange to have our family life captured in a moment. It’s always a bit of a race against time here in Calgary. The leaves change colour quickly with the cooler weather, giving you a small window of two to three weeks before they fall to the ground. This year I chose Kaley Hayward Photography: an awesome local Calgarian photographer that I will definitely use again next year! I love how bright and natural our photos turned out. She also caught some beautiful candid moments.
I love yearly photos for a few reasons:
1. If you do this in the same season, you will have a great snapshot of how everyone has grown in a year’s time.
2. It makes for beautiful photos to use to decorate your home.
3. Use these photos for your Holiday cards and photo gifts to family members. Check out Shutterfly for great options!
Tips
1. If you have young kids, do a mini-session! This was our first time doing an official mini-session this year and it was perfect! These sessions usually have a 20-30 minute time frame and it’s just enough time to get some great shots before your children run out of patience. It is also much cheaper than a full photography session.
2. Choose 3 colours for your colour scheme. For our photos this year, I chose navy blue, forest green and cream. Whatever you choose, try and get at least one neutral colour in there as it is easier to match. One bright colour is great too (think red!). I ALWAYS go to Joe Fresh for family photo coordination. This time of year, their stores are filled with cozy sweaters, plaid flannels and cute jeans… in my opinion the perfect combinations. It’s easy to coordinate and everyone will look casual without looking too dressed up. Jeans are always a great option for everyone!
3. Get your photos outside. The natural lighting and beautiful backgrounds are exactly what you want. A cloudy day is actually better than a sunny one for outdoor photos! No shadowed faces or squinty eyes to worry about.
4. Pick a prop! I wanted to have a few fun, matchy-matchy toque photos for our Christmas card. I went with Cooper Toques in cream, blue and sky blue for my boys and a Ryan Beanie in charcoal for my hubby. I love how cute it turned out! Check out my Etsy Shop to order some for your family or email me: kristinldavies@yahoo.ca
5. A couple little tricks for the mommas: wavy hair looks better than straight, make your smile stand-out with a darker shade of lipstick, and a little extra make-up will still look quite natural on camera.
If you’re looking for my outfit details, shop them on my previous post.
Now say cheese!
Love, Kiki www.harpers-hats.com