Who doesn’t want the cutest photoshoot of their little bundle of terror– I mean bundle of joy for Christmas cards? I for sure do! While my sweet girl can be a menace, she’s oh-so-delectable for Christmas and deserves some glamorous keepsakes for us to hold onto and show to her future boyfriends *evil laughs*
One thing to note though, this guide is for those working on a beer budget with champagne taste – aka phone photos!
Here I share some tips on getting pretty good quality photos of kids at home with no fancy equipment! I don’t have a DSLR (yet…) so I have to really make my phone work for me. Nonetheless, here are 3 of my top tips to a successful Christmas toddler photoshoot at home!
Photoshoot tip #1:
Prepare the backdrop in its ENTIRETY before you bring a baby over. If your child can walk, you are screwed. The window for picture opportunities is small, so having everything ready ahead of time is absolutely key. Iron out the creases on the backdrop (trust me, it’s worth the extra work vs. photoshopping it out later).
Photoshoot tip #2:
Prepare distractions. Have some cookies, weird accessories that are (safe) but new for your tot to hold and look at in wonderment. Better yet, get your husband of wifey in on the action and have them serve as the assistant to the process. Dangle Cocomelon on a tablet for eye direction; coerce them into playing with the props (fake snow), or sing their favourite song as you snap pictures to get them to smile.
Kids photography is. NO. JOKE. These sweet angels have zero attention span, and the curiosity of a cat that can’t sit still, so snap FAST and OFTEN. I ended up with almost 200 photos of Olivia, only to have about a dozen that were “usable”.
Photoshoot tip #3:
Prepare a tripod, but be ready to improvise. I got maybe 15 photos in on a tripod before resorting to handheld, and all my handheld photos turned out way better than the angles (which I tested) beforehand.
Photoshoot tip #4:
LIGHTING is everything. Make sure you are using the best NATURAL or daylight bulb light in the house for the pictures. I had the misfortune of doing so on a gloomy day, so even with fully opened blinds the edits turned out more grainy than I would have liked. The better your lighting, the easier it is to make your photos look amazing!
Photoshoot tip #5:
Lightroom presets are a godsend! Check out Etsy for a bunch of cute options. These edits will take your photos from drab to fab in a second! But that’s why that lighting is SO important. With bad lighting you get a lot of grain and ‘forced’ exposure when editing. Even an average photo with good lighting often ends up better than a great photo with bad shadows or dimly lit.
Photoshoot tip #6:
Lastly, don’t stress if it doesn’t work on first try!
Try to plan their outfit ahead of time and don’t take photos of a hungry baby. I waited for my LO to be asleep for her nap, finished the set up, had her outfit planned ahead of time, and had my props ready all on the side for when the time came. If you start scrambling you are less likely to get what you want out of the pictures AND you are more likely to have a bad experience.
This should be fun for you! If it’s not – be ready to call your losses and try again later. Laugh at how dumb they look holding snow and asking “whatsdat?” to you, or how mesmerized they get by a simple cookie. After all, you’re trying to capture the moments, not fake them =)
If you want some outdoor family photo tips, check out my other post here.
Have fun, and happy holidays!~
