The following article was written by Katie Gregory, an award winning parent and travel blogger, after having a family photo shoot plus interview with Andy. It has been published both on her blog: www.therewego.com and printed in the Bedfordshire OVL Magazine.
1. Don’t tell them to say cheese.
Portrait photography is all about capturing your child in their most natural, happy state – a forced smile because they’ve been told they’ll be in trouble otherwise isn’t going to result in the best photograph!
2. Don’t over prepare them.
The most successful shoots are the ones where parents haven’t talked about it too much, haven’t made a huge deal out of it and haven’t prepped their kids to be on their best behaviour – it leads to a more natural shoot when things are a bit more off-the-cuff.
3 . Let them misbehave (a bit).
Let them relax and be a bit cheeky – within reason – and your photographer isn’t going to mind. In fact, it’ll lead to better photographs, providing they’re not trashing the place.
4. Go for comfortable clothes.
If they’re suited and booted and don’t feel comfy, the likelihood is you’re not going to get the most natural shots. In the same way, don’t give them a ‘special’ hairstyle just for the shoot – you’re going to want to look back at the photographs and remember them how they were day-to-day.
5. Be wary of anything with a big logo.
Branded clothing or anything super stylish will date your photos much quicker. Likewise, avoid dressing one child in stripes and one in spots.
6. Don’t worry about small blemishes or marks.
They can be taken off when the images are retouched. Of course, they won’t remove birthmarks.
7. Get involved.
Don’t be tempted to turn up, hand your kids over and sit on your phone for the rest of the time. You don’t need to be in front of the camera but you do need to be engaged and involved.
8. Don’t look at the shots on the camera.
There are a million reasons why the one you might fall in love with on the back of the camera might not be suitable when it’s full-size. Save the big reveal for later, when you’ll be invited back for a viewing on a big screen.