Preparing for family pictures

My brother in law is a professional photographer who happens to be AMAZING. This now means I am addicted to professional family pics- literally it consumes my brain. I think about places to go, outfits to wear and poses I want. I am sure my husband DREADS when I say "Don't make plans this weekend, we have family pics." This means he has to shave, wear something uncomfortable, and go crazy thinking about pictures with 2 wild nuggets.

Listen folks, if you have a couple hundred bucks ready to be spent, spend it on pictures! What better thing to spend it on than capturing these moments with your family?

This past weekend was our semi annual family picture day. My brother in law suggested we go to Red Rocks which was PERFECT! Our pictures came out amazing thanks to Hugo's eye for perfection. But below are a few tips that might help you find that perfect look you are looking for.

1) Dress in similar colors/theme. Don't wait until the day of your photo shoot to pick out some cute clothes. I have found that the best pictures are when there is a consistent theme going on. I have noticed that keeping colors neautral/earth tones really focuses the attention on the family expressions.

2) Avoid patterns/pictures/words on shirts. Go simple. If you want a timeless family portrait, avoid clothes that are overly trendy at that time. You don't want people viewing your pictures to be distracted by what your shirt says- too many patterns just gets to be too much.

3) Bring a few different outfits along with you. If not for you, for the kids. Kids really enjoy throwing up, pooping through their pants, drooling chocolate out of their mouths etc and messing up only the cutest outfits you put on them. It is also nice to get a few different looks.

4) Bring tons of snacks/distractions with you. The only time Charlotte would smile in our pics was when we waved a puppet or keys in front of her. . .she was also pretty thrilled when we were stuffing her with goldfish to contain the happiness, or when we jumped around and made the dumbest noises on earth.

5) Bribe your kids with whatever means nessesary. By the end of the photo shoot, I'm pretty sure Xavier was on the road to getting a bunch of new superheros if he "smiled sweet". He has since forgotten about it. Now, I'm  sure if this is the best tip, but it works and in the end isn't that all that matters? Yes? No?

6) Think about the look you want to go for. Urban, rustic, country etc. I love a beautiful background, and living in Colorado we have many options. Do your research, go somewhere with a memorable back drop. Hugo has done some amazing family photos just walking around downtown Denver- who knew?

7) Do some research ahead of time and think about some poses you may want- share this vision with your photographer. A great place to admire different poses is searching for "family pictures" on Pinterest.

8) Schedule your photo shoot when your kids are their happiest. In my family, you don't mess with morning nap, or waking anyone up too early. This could be bad. Real bad. Our shoot was scheduled at noon, right after morning nap but before afternoon nap. Charlotte did start melting down right at the end, this was OK, we still managed a cute crying pic of her.

I hope this helps your family take un cheesy, timeless, classic family pictures. While your thinking about pictures, check out my brother's work @ hugovphotography.com . . .you won't regret it. He's the bomb.com (when was the last time yoy heard that? 1999? I thought so, I just brought it back)