Maybe it’s happened to you before. You decide you need some family photos, so you pick out outfits you love for yourself, the kids, and, let’s be honest, hubby. On the day, you do your best to get everyone’s hair done, keep everyone clean, do your own hair and make-up, hoping for some photos you will be happy to hang on your wall. You set a self-timer, get a friend to operate the camera, or even hire someone to take them. But you scroll through them at the end, and you’re just not in love.
Here’s some tips and tricks to give those photos a “wow” factor that will make them look like Pinterest family photos.

1. Hire a professional.

No, I don’t just say this so you’ll go click on the “book now” button. Photography isn’t as easy as “clicking a button”, and not everyone has the eye to make your photos look great. A friend with a DSLR (or these days a high quality phone) may have the equipment and be able to take a photo for you, but without the skills, experience and knowledge that pros have, your photos will always be mediocre. First of all, just because someone has a good camera doesn’t mean they know how to use it, and secondly, professional photographers spend most of their waking hours thinking about things like lighting, composition and angles. They know how to bring out emotion and the really good ones know how to get even the most awkward people to open up and act naturally in front of a camera, and that’s all before the editing stage!

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2. Think about your wardrobe as a group.

Looking nice in photos isn’t as easy as putting everyone in their best outfits. You need to think about them together. That being said, DO NOT MATCH. The key here is coordination. Find a colour palette you love and base outfits on it. If you need some inspiration, I have an entire board on my Pinterest related to colour palettes. Try and mix and match so the colours go well together, and every outfit is within your colour palette of choice.

3. On that note, don’t be afraid of patterns.

This ties into the previous point. Patterns add texture and depth to photographs and usually look really good, but there are some rules: pick one or two people to wear patterns, make sure they aren’t overly busy, and graphics and logos are NOT patterns. If a couple people are wearing patterns, pull one of the colours out with other people’s outfits. So if little Janie is wearing a blue and pink floral patterned dress, put baby sister or brother, mom, or dad in a solid in one of those colours.

4. Empty your pockets.

This one is especially for the men. Keys, wallet, phone – everything out! All bulges show up in photos, and the last thing you want is a keychain hanging out or a phone weighing down one side of your pants.

5. Make yourself FEEL beautiful!

If this means professionally done hair and make-up, a romantic, flowy dress, or just freshly painted nails, the key is to not feel like you look like you do every day. Mom bun and yoga pants are for the grocery store, not your photos, so take the time to curl (and wash) your hair, or get a professional to, put on those false eyelashes and a little extra eye liner, pull out the dress you wear to weddings, and make yourself feel like you look your best!

And lastly,

6. Be prepared to do WHATEVER your photographer says

…even when it sounds ridiculous. Like I mentioned, good pros know how to draw your personality out of you, but they may do it in some pretty weird ways. Just TRUST your photographer. She knows what she’s doing and the photographs will turn out best if you just give in!

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