5 Tips For Prepping For a Photoshoot With A Small Child
Guest post by Jessica Parham
Posted: 04/07/16
Category: Maternity Photography
First of all- let me tell you that I am a mom of a 10.5-month-old little girl, and currently 35 weeks pregnant. So not only do I have to get my very active daughter prepped, my husband prepped, but I also have to get my very pregnant self-prepped. And as many of you may have experienced, it is A LOT harder to feel confident in your own skin, when you feel like you have doubled in size everywhere, not just your belly. So, first piece of advice would be for all of you preggo moms and postpartum moms out there, and the rest apply mostly to your kid!!
1. Don't Procrastinate Choosing Outfits
From my most recent experience with J&D Photography and my maternity photos I can tell you I WAS A HOT MESS in Target the night before. Like I felt like NOTHING fit me. I was crying walking through the store, just walking around in my tank top putting on shirts in the open, because it was just TOO MUCH emotional stress for me to be in those dang 360 mirrors in the dressing room! I mean seriously, I do NOT want to see my “back rolls” and the fact that my butt is two times bigger, let that stay a hidden secret from myself for the remainder of this pregnancy- Thank You!
2. Fill Your Baby Up + Empty The Diaper
This seems like a no-brainer, but when you are running around trying to get everyone ready, this one is easy to slip your mind. Ever hear of the phrase “happy wife, Happy life?” Well, here is a new one for ya: “Hungry baby, Makes Mommy Crazy!!”. Seriously, take me up on this one. Even if your kid isn’t supposed to eat for another 2 hours, give them something to help them have a full belly so they are happier and less emotional during the shoot.
And make sure your kids diaper is clean and dry. This is just a DUH! But along the same lines, make sure that you have extra of everything: diapers, wipes, pouches, puffs.....
3. Work On Your Timing
If your kid normally naps from 1 to 3, it's probably NOT a good idea to schedule your shoot for 2:30!! I promise you, your photographers will thank you for this! Because in order to get the perfect photos of you and your family, your kid can't be screaming in every shot!! So work with your photographers on what will best suit YOUR family- they will give you plenty of options to choose from!!
4. Bring Entertainment
Bringing entertainment for your kid is huge!! If your kid has a singing toy that they absolutely love and it makes them laugh and smile bring it. If there's a TV show that they like and there's one episode that cracks them up download it to an iPad or your phone and bring it.
My daughter, Harper, absolutely loves this singing chicken that we have. And even though it's really obnoxious, and we sometimes hide it at home because it can get annoying, we brought it. David would play it and put it above Jada's head and she would laugh and laugh and laugh!! It made for some really great pictures and an enjoyable time!!
5. Put Your Kid in Comfortable Clothes
I know there are some really really cute clothes out there, but put yourself in your kids shoes. If you had to wear a puffy crinoline dress and patent leather shoes for over an hour and pose and be told what to do would the crinoline dress make you grumpy and angry? I suggest finding an outfit that is equally as comfortable as it is cute!!
Now there are a lot more things that you can do to help you prep for a photo shoot with a young kid, but I wanted to limit it to my top five. I suggest that you do a survey of your kid and your family and figure out what could alleviate some stress when taking pictures, and don't procrastinate when getting everything together!!
