While we were in Utah, we took advantage of our time together as a family and did some family photos with Tracy Layne. The girls are in such a fun stage right now and changing so much every day. I love any chance I get to document it all!

Family Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas Family Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas

Jen’s Navy Dress | Jen’s Necklace | Jen’s Booties | Blake’s Sweatshirt | Blake’s Tan Pants | Blake’s Boots | Piper’s Top | Piper’s Bloomers | Romy’s Gingham Bubble Romper | Piper & Romy’s Moccasins | Piper & Romy’s Headbands (in various colors)

Scroll down to see some of my favorites from our session, and for what it’s worth I’ll give you some of my advice for taking family photos with babies…

Time it well

This may seem obvious, but don’t time your photos during nap time ;). Duh, right? Lighting plays a huge factor in taking great photos, and the best light is either early morning or evening. I’d say know your baby (or babies!) and pick whichever of those times work best for them.Family Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas Family Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas

Be Prepared with Food

Again, this may seem obvious…but make sure your baby is well-fed beforehand, and bring food with you! Whether that’s your boob, a bottle, or if they’re older some non-messy solid snacks. I had a bottle ready to go for our babies, just in case they wanted it in the middle of the shoot.

Don’t stress!

I know it’s easier said than done, but do whatever you can beforehand to over-prepare so that you’re not stressed when it comes time to leave to the shoot. Babies totally sense your energy and will be happier if you are. I know photos can be uncomfortable for some, and it takes a lot of effort to get an entire family ready/dressed. Talk to your spouse/partner if you have one beforehand and make sure you’re on the same page and working together. That helps prevent any last minute fights, which totally result in energy shifts for the little ones!

Family Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas

Stimulation

I always laugh when we are on shoots (for work) with the babies, and a million members of the crew or client team get behind the camera and start screaming and yelling at the babies, trying to get them to look and/or smile a certain way. Luckily we have generally mellow babies, but I feel like in those situations they end up just blankly staring at everyone like they’re crazy. I’ve found the best way to get our babies to smile is to put either a new or favorite toy they haven’t seen in a while by the camera, or one person they really love. In our case, we had our photos taken the same time as my sister’s family. Our girls LOVE my nephew, so he would stand by the camera when needed and get their attention and smiles. Tracy was also great with stimulating them just the right amount.

Family Photos | Advice, Outfit IdeasLet them be them

Tracy was also great with letting them be a little bit, and capturing their personalities. There was one moment where Piper was making a funny face. Tracy hesitated a bit, and then asked me if that was a normal face for Piper. I was like yes actually – she does that face all the time lately! Once I said that, Tracy was like ok great, then that’s what I want! And got some really great pictures of Piper being Piper! Babies aren’t always going to look at the camera and smile perfectly, and that’s ok. I think at this stage it’s a lot more about capturing their personalities, because those are the pictures you’ll love to look back on years from now!

Family Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas Family Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas

She also captured Romy so well, too!

Family Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas Family Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas Family Photos | Advice, Outfit IdeasFamily Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas Family Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas

More photos, along with outfit details…

Family Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas Family Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas Family Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas Family Photos | Advice, Outfit IdeasFamily Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas Family Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas

Jen’s Navy Dress | Jen’s Necklace | Jen’s Booties | Blake’s Sweatshirt | Blake’s Tan Pants | Blake’s Boots | Piper’s Top | Piper’s Bloomers | Romy’s Gingham Bubble Romper | Piper & Romy’s Moccasins | Piper & Romy’s Headbands (in various colors)

Family Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas Family Photos | Advice, Outfit IdeasFamily Photos | Advice, Outfit Ideas

Jen’s Navy Dress | Jen’s Necklace | Jen’s Booties | Blake’s Sweatshirt | Blake’s Tan Pants | Blake’s Boots | Piper’s Top | Piper’s Bloomers | Romy’s Gingham Bubble Romper | Piper & Romy’s Moccasins | Piper & Romy’s Headbands (in various colors)

You can find Tracy here and here – I think she’s usually back and forth between Utah and California. And if you have any great tips or tricks that have worked for taking family photos with your babies, I wanna hear them! Leave me a comment or email :).

xx

Jen