Tips & Tricks For Taking Family Photos With A Toddler

Taking family photos this year with little ones!!?! Today I am sharing all my tips and tricks for taking family photos with a toddler! And how to have a good time while doing it too!

Tips & Tricks For Taking Family Photos With A Toddler

Family photos can be an adventure! Taking the photos can be exhausting, exciting, and stressful. But once you get those pretty pictures back, it is totally worth it all! Growing up, my family took family Christmas pictures every year. I am the youngest of 5 sisters, so I am used to taking photos with lots of nieces and nephews around. Now I have 2 toddlers of my own, so I was grateful for knowing a few tricks with taking family photos with toddlers! Today I wanted to share those tips and tricks with you!

Hire A Photographer

Jake and I have done tripod photos for years! They are super fun to take, but with 2 little ones and a dog, hiring a photographer is key! Find someone who is known for taking family photos. Take time to do a little research. See you who your friends are using, ask around. Photographers can be expensive, but just know its worth it! When you get those pictures back, its all worth it! We have had Mckenize Deakins take our family photos for the last 5+ years. She is incredible and super easy to work with! I would highly recommend her. Here are a few other fun photo shoots we have taken with Mckenzie. (Gender Reveal, Baby Shower, Ice Castles, Twins Are Born, 2019 Fam Photos, Disneyland) P.S. She travels! Mckenzie was awesome and flew to Arizona with us to make our cactus photo dreams come true!

Recruit Help

Ask grandparents, a friend, or anyone you know to come help while your family is getting photos taken! It’s super handy to have extra hands around. To fix hair, help with hair bows, a shoe that fell off, melt down, etc. We had Jakes parents and my mom when we took photos and were so grateful they were all there! With a dog, 2 babies, and tons of prickly cactus around… it was so needed!

Make A Game Plan Before

Talk to your entire family and come up with a game plan for photos. Make sure everyone is on the same page. If you need to, assign everyone a role on how they can help out for photos. Example, Mom in charge of the diaper bag, dad driving, grandparents helping with kids/dog, friend helping with fixing hair and clothes, etc.

Talk To The Photographer Before Photo Day

Before you take photos, talk to your photographer about what you are wanting for the photo shoot. For example, we wanted a vertical family photo and individuals of the girls to go on our wall. So it was more important to get a few vertical shots than anything else. Just be on the same page with your photographer. Pick out a location together for photos that will work for your family. Close to where you live, easy to get to, etc. If you can work around nap time, that is awesome, if not…just know it’s will be worth it! hhaha

Have Everyones Outfits Laid Out The Night Before Photos

By having everyones outfits ready to go the night before, this takes a ton of stress out of the next day! All you need to do on photo day is get yourself and everyone else ready and fed! hahaha Go through your closets, see what you all have that matches. If you need anything last minute its much easier running to Target the night before photos vs day of. Or order some outfits in advance! If you go the ordering route, make sure you get a few options incase colors don’t match in person vs online. I find over buying and returning what didn’t work a great option! Try to make this part as fun and least stressful as possible.

Make Sure Everyone Eats Before Changing Into Outfits

For a smooth time, make sure everyone eats before you go take photos! That includes you too! I’d recommend eating before you put on your outfits for family photos. Everyone is always happier after a yummy meal!

Bring Snacks/Water

In your diaper bag, pack some extra snacks and water just incase! It’s nice to have some easy snacks on hand. (I like to pack my diaper bag the night before photos as well.) Or you can plan to go get ice cream or a fun meal together after family photos! Growing up we would go take family photos and then go out to eat to get some yummy Mexican food! (My family’s fav!)

Lastly……Have Fun!

You prepared, you did it, now have fun and enjoy the moment! YOU GOT THIS!

Outfit Details:

Kelsey Outfit

Dress: Hope Ave| Shoes: Sorel |Lipstick: Mac- Whirl| Lashes: Mac- 34 Lash

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Jake’s Outfit

Suit Jacket: Asos (currently 20% off)| Suit Pants: Asos | Shoes: Converse | Shirt: Nordstrom

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Scout & Davey’s Outfits

Rompers: Wild Wawa | Shoes: Freshly Picked | Floral Crowns: Bandwagon Headbands

Thanks for stopping by today for tips and tricks for taking family photos with a toddler! Do you have any tips to add?!? Or things you tried that worked!? I would love to hear all about them in the comments below! Hope you have a wonderful day!

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