Getting everyone out the door for your photo session without losing your mind
Let’s set the scene.
It’s photo session day. You have been planning this for weeks.
The outfits are cute, the kids are bathed, and you are feeling cautiously optimistic.
And then your three-year-old walks into the kitchen holding a red popsicle and wearing nothing but one sock.
This post is for that moment and every moment like it.
Ive seen it all: the meltdowns, the last-minute blowouts, the toddler who absolutely will not put on shoes under any circumstances. Im not scared. And after reading this, you won’t be either.
Do Everything You Can the Night Before
Future you will literally weep with gratitude.
Little kids wake up and choose creative chaos based on their logic for the day. The only defense is to remove as many morning variables as possible before they even open their eyes.
Lay out every single outfit: shoes, socks, bows, the whole thing
Pack your bag the night before: wipes, backup outfits, snacks, anything you’re bringing
Put everyone’s shoes by the door. All of them. Every shoe.
Prep your own outfit too
Eat a real breakfast. Be nice to yourself
If your child has a lovey, a stuffed animal, or a comfort item, bring it. It stays in the bag during photos but having it nearby is a total game changer for nervous or sensitive kids.
Leave Earlier Than Makes Sense
Whatever time you think you need to leave, back it up by 30 minutes.
The 417 might be home but toddler time operates on its own timezone on photo day.
Those 20 minutes are for:
The person who suddenly needs to go potty after everyone is buckled
The shoe that was by the door and is now somehow not by the door
The mystery smell you discover in the car seat right before you pull out
Decompressing for five quiet minutes before your session
Arriving calm is worth the planning.
The Snack Situation Is Not Optional
Snacks are a session strategy. A hungry or overstimulated toddler is working against both of us and a well-timed goldfish cracker has saved countless photoshoots.
Bring these:
Goldfish, pretzels, grapes, pouches, string cheese, dry cereal
Something small they love and don’t get all the time — a secret motivator
Something for you, because you matter too and you’ve been running on coffee
Do not bring these:
Chocolate. Any chocolate. Toddlers operating in creative chaos do not make good choices with chocolate during a session.
Cheetos, Doritos, or anything that turns fingers a color
Popsicles
Juice boxes with the straw already in
The secret treat reveal is one of the most powerful tools in the toddler photography toolkit. Hold it until the exact right moment. You’ll know when.
What to Tell Your Kids Beforehand
How you talk about the session in the days leading up to it matters more than you think.
Little kids take their cues from you! If it sounds fun, they’re in. If it sounds like something they have to survive, they’ll act accordingly.
Try this:
We’re going somewhere really fun to take pictures and you might get a special snack after.
You can bring your stuffed animal in the car.
We’re going to be silly and laugh a a lot.
Skip this:
You better smile and be good.
Please do not act like you did at Aunt Jennifer’s.
We are very good at working with kids who need a warm-up lap. We’ve never met a toddler who didn’t eventually come around. Some of them just need to check out the space first, make sure we’re not scary, and realize that this is actually kind of fun. Let them take that lap.
Your Outfit Is About You
We know what happens. You spend two weeks finding the perfect outfits for the kids and then it’s the night before and you’re standing in your closet holding something from 2019 going “this is fine, right?”
Here’s the truth: you are in these photos. Not just holding a child while everyone else looks at the camera and I want you to feel happy about what you’re wearing.
Pick your outfit first and coordinate everyone else around you
Wear something you feel confident in, not just something that technically works
Comfort matters
Solid colors photograph beautifully and won’t date the photos in three years
If you’re not sure, text us or email us! outfit consults are one of our favorite things
Ten years from now your kids are going to look at these photos and see you, and we want them to see exactly who you are right now.
The moms who say “I hate photos of myself” almost always end up with a favorite at the end of the session. We hear it constantly. Come in anyway.
Let Go of Perfect Before You Walk In
Here is what I know after running a photography business for 17 years:
The best photos almost never come from the perfectly posed, everyone-looking-at-the-camera moment. They come from the in-between stuff. The toddler who ran the wrong direction. The big kid who made a ridiculous face. The moment you caught eyes with your partner over someone’s head and tried not to laugh.
That’s your family.
Walk in ready to laugh.
Let the kids be a little chaotic. Trust us to find the magic in it because it’s there.
You planned it. You showed up. That’s everything.
Getting little kids out the door for anything is a feat. Getting them out the door looking cute and on time? That’s an Olympic event and you deserve a medal.
We’re ready for your crew whenever you are. Goldfish crackers are welcome.
Be more you. Because only you can see the your family the way you do and I can’t wait to photograph your precious people.
