The secret to truly loving the way you look in your fall family photos
Fall family photos are about to flood your Facebook and Instagram feeds. Family photos are a beautiful thing, but they also cause a lot of stress and anxiety, especially for mamas! The top two reasons that family photos are stressful for mamas are that:
They’re a lot of work! We are the ones coordinating outfits, planning locations and convincing our husbands to take them.
You don’t like how you look. Maybe you haven’t lost the baby weight or you packed on a few more pounds than you’d like during 2020. Either way, not looking your best can cause extra stress.
I have been in both of these situations, so I can understand not wanting to take photos or doing it and being stressed out an uncomfortable the whole time! But, these fears and stressors don’t have to stop us from capturing memories of our families!
I interviewed my good friend and professional photographer, Natalie Miller, and together we want to give you the secret to loving the way you look in your family photos plus we have a few tips to take some of the pressure off of yourself and make family photoshoots more enjoyable!
Tips to prepare for a family photoshoot
If planning family photoshoots stresses you out, then Natalie has a few great suggestions! She has been a photographer for over 20 years and works with families with littles and teenagers so she knows how crazy it can be to prep for family photos!
Choose coordinated outfits
Natalie says that the number one thing mamas worry about is what to have their families wear for photos. In her experience, most mams get overwhelmed because they feel like they don’t have the ability to coordinate Pinterest-perfect outfits.
When it comes to choosing outfits for your family, the best thing you can do is make sure that everyone is comfortable! If you are a t-shirt and jeans family, then dressing up in suits or gowns is going to feel awkward for everyone! You can elevate your everyday wear for a photoshoot, but keep it close to what you’re comfortable in. When your kids (or husband) feels comfortable in what they’re wearing it will make it easier to get photos where they look happy!
The second outfit tip Natalie told me was to create a color palette. Having everyone in a white shirt and jeans, or in the exact same t-shirt isn’t really in style anymore. Instead, pick 3-5 colors and have everyone choose something in that color palette.
If you aren’t sure what colors to include in your color palette, talk to your photographer! They may be willing to give you outfit advice and even help you choose a palette that will work with your location and that will photograph well.
Natalie’s bonus tip: Don’t put one person in white and everyone else in dark colors! It will make the person in white become the focal point and you won’t focus on everyone else.
Let your kids be themselves!
We all want our kids to sit still, smile and be ridiculously adorable for the camera, but let’s be honest, that’s never how it goes. Bahahaha! Sure, you can talk to your kids and ask them to be on their best behavior, but don’t let it stress you out when they start to wiggle and get impatient.
The good thing about letting your kids act like themselves is that you’re going to be able to get photos of your kids just as you remember them! It’s totally ok for them to have fun and be a little wild! That’s what childhood looks like and you’ll treasure those memories one day!
If you want to have some more formal portraits of your kids, talk with your photographer and let her know that! Most photographers will try to get the more posed shots of kids at the beginning of the photoshoot because your kids are fresh and ready to listen!
Natalie’s bonus tip: When you’re choosing a photographer, make sure you pick one who is good with kids! Ask your friends or family for a referral of a good family photographer. Not all photographers love photographing kids, make sure you find one who does.
Finally, don’t be above bribing! Going for ice cream (or any other reward method) after family photos can be a great way to keep your kids focused and it can be a fun tradition that helps your kids get excited for the photoshoot!
The secret to loving yourself in photos is knowing you’re worthy
This is the big one. When you don’t love yourself and your body, taking family photos can be hard. A lot of time mamas try to hide their bodies behind their kids, or only take photos while standing so that they can try to look their best. There is absolutely nothing bad about trying to pose yourself so you look your best. There is a problem when it becomes the only thing you can think about.
Mama, I need you to know this. You are worthy of taking photos as you are. There is nothing wrong with you right now.
If you want to love yourself in your photos you have to learn to love yourself no matter what. I can tell you that I could widdle you down to nothing and if you didn’t learn how to love yourself as you are right now, you wouldn’t be any happier at your dream weight.
This is one of the biggest lessons my Macros Made Easy Mamas learn during the program. I start by teaching mamas how to balance their food choices so that they can make healthy decisions, but in all honestly, that only takes about 2 weeks to learn. I then spend the other 10 weeks of the Macros Made Easy Program teaching mamas how to tackle mindset blocks and love themselves fully.
You can love yourself as you are right now and still strive to be better.
Losing weight is a great thing to do for your health, but it doesn’t change your worth. You have all the power you need to love how you look in photos. You just have to step into that power!
Mama, take the pictures. Don’t put it off until you lose the last five pounds. Don’t let how you look now stop you from making the memories.
I can tell you right now that no one else is looking at your photos and is focused on the rolls on your tummy. Your spouse will look at those photos and see the beautiful woman they married. Your kids will look them and see the mama who loves them fiercely. You are the only one focused on your faults. Stop being so hard on yourself!
Ultimately, we take family photos to remember this point in time. You don’t have to be perfect for them. The goal is just to capture how much you love your family.
Take additional steps to feel extra confident
If you’re having trouble getting to a place where you love yourself and feel worthy, no matter how you look, it can be helpful to take a few additional steps to feel confident. Natalie and I put our heads together to come up with a few ideas that can help you feel amazing in your photos!
Remember, when you feel beautiful and confident it will show up in your photos. It is absolutely worth spending a little more money or time to help boost your confidence!
Know which side of your face you like more
It sounds silly, but let’s be honest we all know one side of our face is more photogenic than the other! Know which side you prefer to have photographed and make sure you tell your photographer so they can have you pose with that side facing the camera.
Practice different smiles
Natalie taught me this trick before our first photoshoot together and it changed everything! I had no idea that you could even have different smiles! Natalie pointed out that you don’t want to have the same face in every photo, so it’s a good idea to change up your smile.
Here are a few different smiles and faces you can practice:
Open mouth smile
Closed mouth smile
Laughing hard at something smile
Coy smile
“My kids did something cute” smile
Looking lovingly at your spouse smile (this one is more of a smize)
Laughing under your breath smile
Get your hair and makeup professionally done
This one has been a game changer for me! There is something magical about having someone else do your hair and makeup. It makes you feel fancy and bougie and all the things. Having someone else get you ready could be the little confidence boost you need to really shine in your photos!
There’s a million other ways to increase your confidence before a photoshoto, but my rule of thumb is, if you don’t feel confident in a certain area, ask for help! You can ask friends, family or a professional for help! If you don’t know who to ask about posing, outfits, etc. then ask your photographer! She most likely has a connection or tip that can help you out.
If you are struggling to love your body, I would love to link arms and help you out. You deserve to love yourself and you deserve to live a long, healthy life, and I can help you achieve both of those goals in the Macros Made Easy Program. Schedule a free discovery call to see if it’s the right fit for you!
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