Minneapolis Children's Photographer Archives | Portrait + Wedding Photographer Carina Photographics

Family Photography Preparation Tips | Carina Photographics

Family Photo Session Prep Tips

Family portrait sessions can be so much fun! However, sometimes people feel intimidated about how to plan for a successful photoshoot. As a family portrait photographer, I get a lot of questions about preparation for family sessions. I’d like to share some simple tips to help you prepare for your portrait photoshoot:

Family Photoshoot Preparation Tips

~ Set your children(s) expectations in advance: let them know a few days in advance, as well as let them know it will be a fun time to spend together!
~ Give yourself plenty of time to get ready: hair or wardrobe malfunctions, bad traffic, or other problems can derail your portrait session. Give yourself plenty of time so you are calm and ready for your session.
~ Make sure the kids are fed and well-rested.
~ Consider props, toys, mementos or special types of photos you want in your session: a favorite stuffy or toy, or even an heirloom quilt, can help to personalize the session for your family.
~ Bring snacks for the kids: consider easy, portable snacks such as cheese cubes, crackers, jelly beans, etc. Steer clear of chocolate, bright juices and other messy snacks.
~ Express yourself and tell your story: we’ll be photographing you together as well as alone, so personalizing for each family member will help capture your unique story.
~ Let kids be kids and give each child time to shine: running, playing tag, tickle fights – all are fun activities for your family and help get amazing photos of you together as well as individually.
~ Have fun! This most important advice will help guarantee portraits you will love!

More Family Photoshoot Info

Need some style tips for your family portrait session? Take a look at my Family Portrait Style Tips blog post for more information. Need some ideas for locations or activities for your family portrait session? Take a look at my Family Portrait Photography Ideas blog post for more information.

Be sure to let me know if you have any other questions or would like to book a family photoshoot. I would love to help you achieve the family portrait photography of your dreams!

Family Studio Portrait Photography MN | Goetze Family

By Joanna Carina

Fine Art Family Photography

Sibyll has been a friend of mine since our kiddos attended pre-school and grade school together. It’s been fun watching her son Sean grow through the years. I was incredibly honored when she purchased my donated gift card at our school’s fundraiser and asked that I would photograph the two of them! How awesome was that?!?!

MN Family and Child Photography

Sibyll and Sean visited my studio one fall day to create their portraits together. They were ready with wardrobe ideas and were ready to have fun! We hung out in my studio, chatted about our latest happenings, found the perfect wardrobe, and got going. We had fun creating photos of them both together and individually. Sean had fun showing me his awesome dance moves, as well as making as many funny faces he could. I also loved capturing photos of them hugging and holding each other, and could just sense their love from across the room!

Once we were finished their session, we narrowed down to a good number of their favorite photos. They decided to craft a beautiful custom album of their session featuring all their favorite photographs. The album is so beautiful, and I know they will cherish it forever!

Thank You!

Thank you, Sibyll + Sean, for working with me as your family and child photographer. I had so much fun working with you, and I am thrilled that you love your album!

If you’d like to work together for your family and child photography, contact me soon!

BONUS: Take a look at a mother-daughter studio session I photographed too!

Minneapolis Family Photography | Huntwork Family

By Joanna Carina

MN Family Studio Photography

I met Maddie years ago when I started working as a wedding photographer. She is a phenomenal wedding planner, and once we worked at our first wedding together, we became fast friends. A few months ago, I was lucky enough for the chance to work with Maddie and her family right around the time her daughter Freya turned one year old.

MN Children’s Photography

Maddie, William and Freya came out to my St Paul photo studio and we worked together for just about an hour. Freya did an amazing job! She is a curious, happy, dancing, bouncing little darling! We captured photos featuring all three of them together, some with each parent and Freya alone, and then some of little Freya alone dancing, playing with her stuffies and having fun. They all had such a great time, and little Freya was a champ!

Afterward, I had them out to my St Paul studio for their Cinematic Presentation + Design Consultation. They had a number of photos that were their favorites – they even ended up highlighting the photo of Freya having a melt-down on their 2019 Holiday Card! Lol!

Thank You!

Thank you, Maddie, William and Freya, for working with me as your family portrait photographer. I had so much fun working with you three, and I am thrilled that you love your photographs!

Also, make sure to take a look at other family and child portrait sessions I photographed: Ford Family, Novak-Nadeau Family, Samolytz-Brossoit Family

If you’d like to work together for your family or child portrait photography, contact me soon!

Long Lake Regional Park Family Photography | Novak-Nadeau Family

By Joanna Carina

Long Lake Park Family Photos

Mary and Lisa knew that life doesn’t slow down, and their girls were growing up so quickly in front of their eyes. They contacted me to update their family photography last fall. They really enjoyed working at Long Lake Regional Park, the location of our first family session. So we decided to head on over to the beautiful park one more time. We had so much fun together!

St Paul Family and Child Photography

We happened to luck out and get a day of beautiful fall weather last October, during a time when the weather had been really uncooperative for awhile. (Lots of rain and freezing temps). We met up in the early morning and the light was so beautiful! Between the perfect sky and weather and the best fall colors, we had such an amazing day!

Mary + Lisa came back out to my studio to review the gallery of photos from their session. They loved them, and had a tough time narrowing down their favorites! They settled on a number of fine art matted prints. They were so beautiful, and I loved the look on their faces when they saw their prints for the first time!

Thank You!

Thank you, Mary, Lisa, Amelia and Eliza, for choosing to work with me as your family portrait photographer. I had so much fun working with you all, and I am thrilled that you love your photographs!

If you’d like to work together for your family or child portrait photography, contact me soon!

BONUS: Be sure to take a look at some other outdoor family portrait sessions I captured too, such as this Como Park family session, another Como Park family session, a Minneapolis park family session, and a MN Landscape Arboretum family session.

MN Landscape Arboretum Family Photography | Ford Family

By Joanna Carina

Minneapolis Family Photographer

As a family photographer, I love getting a chance to work with my clients again after their big day. Whether headshots, portraits, or even their growing family, I’m open for most anything. In 2017, Safiyyah + Rory asked me to photograph their maternity session and their newborn session once their son Remy made his debut. (I had previously worked with them on their 2014 Aria Mpls wedding photography.)

Safiyyah + Rory contacted me this summer to schedule Remy’s first birthday photo session. When deciding upon locations, they gravitated toward the natural beauty of the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen. Anytime I can work at this beautiful location, I jump at the chance. So I was naturally super excited not only to work with my awesome friends and clients, see how big Remy had gotten (wow!!!) and also to see how things were looking at the beautiful Arboretum.

Family Photo Session

Our family session was so much fun! In the year since I had seen him, Remy had grown into a running, laughing, babbling little munchkin! It was a warm and humid day, perfect for him to explore every place he could reach. We meandered through several of the gardens and photographed Remy taking it all in with mom and dad.

Viewing and Ordering Session

Holding our Viewing/Ordering session, it was a tough choice to narrow down the images to Safiyyah + Rory’s “best-of-the-best”. They selected an Heirloom Portrait Box – a handmade copper-foiled glass box filled with gorgeous heirloom matted 8×10 prints. Their final box was absolutely stunning!

Safiyyah + Rory, thank you so much for choosing to work with me for your MN Landscape Arboretum family session. I always love working with you guys. It was a joy to see little Remy growing so fast, and I wish you every happiness as you grow together as a family!

If you would like more information about working with me for your children and family portraits, contact me soon!