Pattern Anthology Winter Collection: How to create the most AMAZING photographs of your children!!!

I was so excited to be asked to participate in the Pattern Anthology Winter Collection Blog Tour!!!!

(you can check out all the amazing other bloggers on the tour HERE)

So excited in fact, that I signed up to do a sibling set of clothing from the patterns (three items sewn in less than a week, no problem) .  So excited that I was blinded into gleefully saying - and I'll to a holiday PHOTO blog post.  Ummmm... in theory this makes sense, I am a professional photographer after all - I have the creds to write this post.  But the reality is that I am a 100 gazillion times better at taking photos of OTHER people's children.  The reality is that I have three toddlers under three and none of them have developed into a photo ham yet.  The reality is that taking photos of children is HARD!!!!  But never fear... I am going to give you some awesome tips to help you STILL get some amazing photos to use for your Holiday Cards this year!
....unlike these..... (sigh)

First I want to talk a little about Clothing (SAY WHAT!?!?!?)

• When it comes to clothing for pictures, I have one rule - Coordinate, don't Match!!! (now rules are meant to be broken, so occasionally matching can be gorgeous - but overall just don't do it, you will thank me latter when your photos do not show up on akwardfamilyphoto.com!)
• Pick a color scheme - you can easily work with anywhere from 2-5 colors, I think 3 colors is the easiest.  Pick two Base Colors (these are the colors you want the most of. I recommend that my clients stick to a color family - Warms or Cools, or prick neutrals).  Then pick one POP color - you are going to use this color more sparingly.

I went with 3 colors for this shoot.  Grey and Navy are my Base, and Yellow is my Pop.  I picked the Berkshire Blazer and the Juliet Capelet for this shoot.  I love outdoor photo shoots, so outer wear was the way to go for me!  I knew that both boys would get a blazer, but of course I didn't want them to 'match'.  I decided to keep A's more Classic and do a solid navy - his jacket has a yellow striped linen lining and matching elbow patches.  I added diagonal top stitching and did all the top stitching in grey to make it a littel more Mod. For B's I wanted to create a different feeling, so I made a contrasting lapel and pockets and went with a cool navy and white striped lining.  These Blazers are amazing - a tailored fit that just looks stylish and expensive!  Baby girl donned the capelet made in a gorgeous Silver Grey fabric I picked up in India and lined with yellow linen.  Capelets are so easy to make, and even easier to wear.  The amount of material and hood really keeps them warm too!!! I'm seeing an upcycled sweater capelet in my future!

• Accessorize!!!!  Make the whole look come together with great accessories.  I added a Navy hat with yellow bow for baby girl, a soft yellow infinity scarf for B and a grey and navy scarf for A.  Little touches that just pull everything together.

Next, lets talk about the photo shoot!

• LOCATION:  Pick a place that is going to look cool - you want to pick something that fits your style and that is easy enough to not have unwanted things in the background.  I love fields, parks and trails.  I could have given this look a more urban feel and taken my kids downtown - but I was slightly afraid they would be squished by cars and pedestrians alike.  Don't forget about safety!
• Props:  Give your kids something to do.  You might have hams that love to stand beautifully and smile for the camera - most of us don't!  By giving your child something to interact with you create the opportunity to get a great candid in the midst of chaos.
• When everything goes wrong - don't give up, but do REGROUP!

yucky grass, hmmm a ball, dude what am I supposed to do with this??

You will notice I have very few pictures with my 'Holiday Set'... this was a day that nothing was in my favor.  Baby girl was running a fever, the grass was wet and cold, the boys just wanted to chase imaginary squirrels.  It led to CHAOS and my doubting whether I would ever pick up my camera again!  Luckily, I have the most amazing husband who gently encouraged me and wouldn't let me completely give up on myself or my children.  We took a break - we went to a park where there happens to be a great walking path.  We let them play for a half hour then asked if they wanted to walk on the path - they were all excited... so I threw their 'shoot clothes' back on them , and onto the path we went.  Within the first 3 minutes I captured these shots (along with the one at the top of the post).

 We brought only one prop with us, and most of the pictures don't include it.  On a different day my original set up would have been perfect - this just wasn't that day.  Sometimes the most important tip is that you just have to let go of your expectations and accept what comes.

Thanks for joining me and don't forget to get your own Pattern Anthology Collection to use for your holiday photo-shoots!!!!