A friend of mine recently told me that when she was a little girl she used to count the number of photos of herself in her family’s home. Then she’d count how many there were of her brother. She wanted to make sure they were equally represented. That they were both loved and that it showed on her family’s walls, side tables, dressers.
One of my favorite things about my photography work is seeing the looks on my clients’ (and their children’s) faces when they see just how amazing and beautiful they look in photos.
As children grow and develop, the world around them influences how they internalize love, belonging, and self-esteem. As parents, we know that showing our love and acceptance to our children is integral to their growth as happy, healthy future adults, but did you know that seeing themselves in photos actually boosts their self-esteem as well?
Research has indicated that having family photos in your home can actually help your child feel more valued and even given them a deeper understanding of their heritage and place in the family unit.
Family Photos tell Your Family’s Story
Photographs are said to be worth a thousand words and those visuals tell a story—the story of your family and life together.
“When children grow up surrounded by photographs, it gives them a richer understanding of where they come from, which helps with confidence. Until recently, people often thought of photographs as almost trivial, but actually they are an incredibly important way of connecting with our sense of self, with each other and with times gone by,” says Professor Geoff Beattie, Dean of Psychological Sciences at the University of Manchester (UK) author of a 2009 study on the effect of family photos on children.
Seeing themself in photos enriches a child’s sense of identity
Photos in your home act as an implicit and distinct statement that family is important and that each member is equally important.
As human beings we assimilate objects of value into our subconscious definition of self-identity. Kids are like sponges, soaking in every family photo, every photo of themselves into the story that is their life.
Each family photo displayed in your home is a silent, “I love you.”
Printed photos vs. digital
Of course so many of us love to share images of our children online, but we can’t forget the value of printed images that not only set a tone of love and acceptance in the home, but provide the easiest way for your child to simply see themselves in pictures every day. Without having to turn on a device.
There’s a different level of engagement that happens when we engage more of our child’s sense of not just vision, but touch. There’s just something different about holding an photograph in your hand.
Dr. David Krauss, licensed psychologist who has been using client family photos in their therapy sessions since the 1970s, recommends placing family photos and photos of your children in their own bedrooms too, so they will be the first thing they see in the morning and one of the last before they shut their eyes at night.
A Parent’s role in bolstering your child’s self-esteem with photos
A fun activity suggested by Judy Weiser, licensed psychologist is to talk about your family photos with your children. Tell them about the people they might not know as well, or show them photos of themselves as babies, or even photos of parents and grandparents as children. Talk about how they belong and how much love you all have for each other despite your different lives, opinions, and generations.
If you’d like to read more a more in-depth article on this subject, visit Glow Imagery here.
A Photographer’s role in fostering your child’s self-esteem
“A photographer’s job is to create and make the image look like a safe holding space for kids where they are safe and protected. Kids get it on a really simple level,” says Dr. Krauss
It’s my mission to make your family photo session as fun as possible. I recommend that you get your kids involved in the process. In fact, I created a video with five ways you can help your kids prepare for their photography session.
And remember that friend of mine who used to count photos of herself when she was a child?
As a mother, she now makes sure she always has an equal number of photographs on display of her own children. ;)
Your Child’s Self-Esteem
We know it can sometimes be stressful to prepare your kids for your family photography session, but I promise we’ll make it your best experience yet! I’ve compiled five of my favorite tricks and tips to help you get your kids ready for the big day.
If you’ve got about 3 minutes, I’ve got you covered. Watch now:
You can also read the summary of the video below.
#1. Make sure your kids know that the photo session is going to be fun! We promise we’ll make it great time for your family.
#2. Get your kids involved in picking out their outfits for your shoot. Select a couple of base colors and then give them a chance to find colors that go with them.
#3. Have your kids select a special object (a crazy hat, a toy, a book) to bring so they can feel more comfortable.
#4. Talk to your kids about who they might want to have a special picture with. We’ll put those shots together for you!
#5. Think of some fun games you can play during the shoot–maybe Red Rover? This can be great for capturing candid shots of your children’s personalities.
Bonus Tip: We want your kids to feel comfortable, even if that means getting to act a little crazy at times. It’s my job to manage the chaos, so don’t worry and have fun!
Thanks for stopping by!
~Kristin
Just about every photo session with us includes an in-studio review session about a week or two after your photo shoot. We know that a lot of photographers simply send an online album with photos to choose from, but I think it’s important to go the extra mile to help our clients.
If you’ve ever had professional photography done you know that we take a ton of photos during your session. This is great, because as a photographer I have so many more photos to choose from when looking for the perfect poses, lighting, smile, etc.
But if you’re looking through an online album of photos it can be really hard to choose between hundreds of different options. That’s why we are right there to help you.
This is one of the biggest reasons I make your review session a priority. My team is experienced in the art of finding and selecting the best photos from your session.
So here’s a little behind-the-scenes look at how our white-glove review session works.
It starts as soon as your photography session is finished.
That’s right, as soon as I’m done photographing you (and/or your family) I begin going through the images and selecting the best first round. This usually ends up being several hundred photos.
A little while later, after I’ve had a little artistic space from the images, I go back and get a little pickier, looking for the best poses, the best facial looks, smiles, etc.
Then we start editing.
From there, I select my favorite twenty to twenty-five images to edit. This is when my team and I tap into my nearly twenty years of photo-editing experience to optimize lighting, smooth wrinkles, or remove blemishes, or even shave off a few pounds.
High-quality portrait prints.
After we’ve made these gorgeous images absolutely picture perfect, we print them on our high-quality, archival photo paper and put them in mattes to display on our reveal wall. I’ll explain what that is in just a bit.
Your Review Session.
A week or so after your photography session we’ll call to set up a good time for you to come by our studio and see your photos in three amazing ways.
Slideshow.
We always put together a beautiful slideshow to show you some of the best pictures from your shot, sometimes with a little video from your shoot as well.
Reveal Wall.
When you first walk into the studio the reveal wall will be covered, but during your session we’ll pull the curtains aside to reveal those painstakingly edited images, matted and ready to be framed. You’ll be able to see your beautifully printed images, hold them in your (white-gloved) hands, and even take some home!
Digital Selections.
We’ll also have a selection of close to a couple hundred favorite photos on our flat screen display. We’ll work with you to narrow down the best shots, by comparing your favorites side-by-side and helping you understand the differences (even the minute ones) to each photo so you can pick ones that you’ll love for years to come.
You can always order individual images, but our best offerings are in our wall art, artisanal albums, Italian photo boxes, and other professionally printed packages. No matter what your taste, needs, or preferences, we’ll help you choose the perfect images and even edit them to your specifications.
We know that our clients come to us for a top notch experience and so we strive to give you the best photography experience of your life, along with the portraits that you’ll cherish for generations.
Want to see the behind the scenes video for this photo session? Click here to view the video.
Are you ready to book your session? Call us now.
Or sign up for the email list to get the latest tips on how to make your session wonderful.
Easter has come so early this year and while we’d love for you to bring your little cuties in for a professional family photo session for Easter, we realize you might just want some fun photo ideas that you can do at home.
So, we’ve gathered some fun photo ideas that you can recreate yourself.
Let’s start with the littlest ones. Babies are so fun to pose with colorful props, because let’s face it, they make everything look adorable. And as long as they’ve had a nap, they don’t usually protest. ;)
Little Bunnies
How about dressing up your little bunny and taking a photo of her sitting in the grass at your local park? This sweet,ruffly romper gives this little girl a beautiful Victorian touch for Easter.
This romper is available on Etsy.
Or if she’s younger, how about curled up on a fuzzy blankie?
Pro Tip: To make photo shoots easier with any baby or young child, make sure they’ve had their nap and have some favorite toys and silly faces at the ready. For newborns, it’s best to pose them while they’re still sound asleep.
This adorable crocheted bunny outfit is available on Etsy.
Easter Eggs and Baskets
Add some color and fun, by duplicating this adorable baby easter basket photo. All you need is a basket, plastic Easter eggs, and a bunny headband.
Pro Tip: To get baby in a good mood play with the eggs with her before you begin and have another adult handy who can entertain her with tickles or giggles while you take the pictures.
Have older kiddos? You can have even more fun with creative photo ideas! Check out some of these.
Ducklings
How about this Japanese cutie with her baby ducklings?
This picture doesn’t require a lot of props either: simply an umbrella, rain-boots and some rubber duckies.
Pro Tip: Get your child involved in the fun by having them help you arrange the duckies. You could even encourage them to come up with a story about the duckies to get them even more engaged in the game and photos.
Egg Art
Another way to get the kids in on the fun is to have them make the first letter of their name in the grass with Easter eggs! Then experiment with fun and silly poses in the grass until you get the right shots. Make the whole exercise silly and you’ll get some great candid pics like this one.
Tea Party
Host an Easter tea party with your kids and snap pictures while they play. Make some of their favorite treats and let them explore how they might have fun with their tea party.
Pro Tip: situate your play table under the open shade of a tree and experiment with different angles to get the lighting right.
Picnic in the Park
If your kids aren’t into tea parties, what about a picnic? This setting can easily be done with a cute old blanket and some yummy lunch. Pet bunny is optional, of course.
Springtime Blossoms
Take advantage of the beautiful trees blooming all around Orange County this time of year. While you’re playing in the park with the kids, take a moment to snap some photos! They don’t need to be as posed or color coordinated as this one, just have fun with it. Some of the best photos come from playing around.
Candid Confetti Egg Game Photos
Speaking of playing around, is one of your family traditions playing the confetti egg game? If not, maybe you should adopt this fun (yet messy) Easter tradition!
It makes for some great, silly and very candid photos.
Pro Tip: If you’re taking photos with your camera phone set your camera to “burst” to get multiple fast images with each click. This will help you to capture the action best. Click here to learn how to adjust your iPhone camera settings. And if you’re on an Android device, click here.
Click on the photo to get instructions on how to create and play the confetti Easter egg game.
However you celebrate Easter or springtime, we hope you have fun and capture some great candid memories. And when you’re ready for some professional family photos we’ll be here too.