You should do this every year for your child's birthday! {Denver Kids Photography}

Birthday’s in my house are a big deal. As a December baby who never had more than a few good friends at a time birthday parties when I was a kid were rare. It was hard being so close to the holidays and since I didn’t have a million friends to invite my chances of getting more than one kid, typically my best friend, to even show to a party was rare. So when my first born joined this earth the day before my birthday and 6 days before Christmas I swore that he would never go without a party, even if that party was our family and a few really good friends.

There is only one birthday tradition in our family that is more sacred than the birthday party, and that is the birthday portrait. Portraits of me that were not taken at school were more rare than birthday parties and lets face it that assembly line photography done on school portrait day does not typically show your best side. So every year, at very least once a year but typically a few times, my kids get a new portrait. Sometimes they are just traditional portraits, and sometimes they are birthday themed with balloons and decorations, and sometimes I go crazy and plan a shoot around their birthday party theme like this mermaid shoot I did for my 6 year old’s birthday session, it doesn’t matter much the type of portraits so much as documenting their lives as they grow and change.

The Birthday Club!

Monday Milestones

I launched my Monday Milestone sessions because I wanted to make it easy for families to have new images of their child captured every year. Like my children’s birthday sessions I offer traditional portraits, seasonal themes, customized birthday shoots and more to make your session special. Now I want to make it even easier to get those portraits taken for your child’s birthday!

Introducing the birthday club! Every year for your child’s birthday I will send them a birthday gift! In 2021 that gift will be a free Monday Milestone session! You birthday coupon code will trade in your $100 Monday Milestone session fee for a $50 deposit and session retainer that can be used towards your prints, a total of $100 in savings.

Get signed up now!

My name is Jennifer Tavera, I am one of North Denver's premier high end photographers. In 2020 I celebrated 13 years as a professional portrait photographer. I got my start back in 2007 working at a children's portrait studio, that, combine with 10 years experience raising my own 5 children means I am ready for just about anything when photographing your kids and I know how to make even the most stubborn kids laugh. I am often told by my clients that I am the only one who has ever taken a photo of them that they love. I attribute this to my superpower of knowing how to get you to relax in front of the camera.

I am passionate about capturing motherhood in all of it's stages and helping you celebrate your life through ready to hang heirloom portraits wall art. I want to take your favorite family photo. Contact me to book a free no-obligation consultation to plan your perfect portrait session.

How to prepare for a family photo session {Northglenn Colorado Photographer}

Last weekend my family had our family photos taken, let me tell you photos with a family of 5 kids and a husband who doesn’t really love picture day can be a huge headache but we made it through and with my own session fresh in my mind I have decided I need to create a checklist for all of you to help make your session run more smoothly. Here are the steps you need to take to make sure your family photo session will go off without a hitch

Setting up your session:

• Choose a photographer. Make sure you love their style of images including types of photos you see in their portfolio, editing style and the products they offer (canvases or other wall art products). Hopefully, your photographer is me and you already have that part covered!

• Set up a date, time and location. make sure to think about where you are going to hang the images when you choose the location. For me I really wanted them hanging in my dining room and was picturing a mountain backdrop. When you book with me, I will send you location suggestions based on your vision so tell me a little bit about what you have in mind. You can also check out my favorite locations on my locations Pinterest board.

Planning your wardrobe

I’ve done several blog posts just on this subject so if you want more details than I give here, check out this recent blog post just on choosing clothing for families.

• Choose colors for your family photos. You will want to choose at least two colors to mix and match throughout the group, even if one of them is a neutral. I knew I wanted royal blue to match the walls in my dining room so I started with blue and white. Later I added khaki pants on all of the boys so it was 3 colors total.

• Add accessories. When planning our session I chose a blue and white checkered shirt for my middle son but I know he couldn’t be the only one with white in his outfit so I added a white sweater on my oldest daughter and a blue sweater with white “fur” on my younger daughter, then I found a white shawl

for me and added pearl necklaces on all 3 girls. Next, I wanted to make sure that my husband’s shirt that was a slightly lighter blue didn’t look out of place so I added flower crowns for my girls in the same color blue. The accessories really tied together all of the outfits so no one person stood out in the group.

• Check their shoes!!! The easiest thing to forget when planning a session is to make sure everyone has shoes that are going to look good in the photos (no cartoon characters or bright colors that will draw your eye to the shoes instead f your faces) and make sure they fit! Don’t wait until the day before or day of the session to do this. If your child hasn’t worn their dress shoes in months and you plan to have them wear them for the session have them try them on to make sure they still fit and look great.

• Make sure you will be warm enough. As I write this it is fall and the weather is quickly getting colder. In a few weeks it will be November and warm clothing options for your session will be a MUST. For our session I planned sweaters for my girls, long sleeve shirts WITH UNDERSHIRTS for my boys, a shawl for myself since my dress was off the shoulder and I even brought a white blanket for the baby so that I could wrap him in it when it got chilly and still have it match our clothing colors. You will want something your small kids can wear in the session to keep them warm in case it’s a cold day. Look for cute sweaters, jackets, layered clothing or even cute matching winter hats!

Pack a bag before the session day with things you might need

My bag might look a little different than yours based on the age of your kids but this was what went in my photo session bag.

• Extra diapers, underwear and pants (that would still match our colors) for my 2 year and 2 month old.

• A toy that I didn’t mind being in the photo. Make a favorite stuffed animal, a favorite book you could read your little one, a vintage-looking toy (I love toy airplanes, rag dolls etc).

• Safety pins, bobby pins, hair clips. Just in case.

• A quilt and a blanket that matched our session colors. I will typically bring a quilt and some stools to most of my family sessions and try to match them to your clothing however it is also a great idea to bring your own, especially if it has any sentimental value, for fun shots of the family hanging out on the quilt or wrapping themselves in it.

• A brush and a lint roller.

• Baby wipes and/or a wet rag.

• A spray bottle with water or detangler.

• Clean snacks (I avoid bringing these out of the car during the session, often once kids see them they just want more and more and then they have food in their mouth in all of the images, however it is great to have them on hand just in case.

Arrive early to the session.

Now that you have everything you need for the session itself plan to arrive early, especially if you have little ones. We planned to be there 45 minutes early so that we could dress my 5-year-old, 2-year-old and 2-month-old there as well as feed the baby a bit before we started. Even when we were running a little late this still got us there in time for a quick feeding and to be ALMOST ready by the time our photographer arrived. Let’s face it as moms it’s sometimes hard to get anywhere on time with the whole family so do yourself a favor and plan to be early.

A few things you shouldn’t do to prep for your session

• Don’t practice smiling with your kids. You will make your kids overthink their smile and they will be less likely to e natural and relaxed for the session.

• Don’t Bring messy snacks to give them before or during the session. This seems like a no brainer but it happens all the time so it is worth saying.

• Don’t Bribe your children Ok sometimes a bribe might be necessary, but it also tells the kids that this may not be fun, why else would mom and dad need to bribe us? My goal is to just make the session as fun as possible and use the brides as a last resort. Also, keep in mind that small children will not wait a long time for a bribe. If they are promised something after the session they typically start to get frustrated that they have not received the bride within the first 15 minutes of the session. After that, it can be hard to get them to cooperate because often they start to believe that the promised bribe is not really coming. So save the brides for getting those last few poses after your kids have started to tire of the session. Instead tell them “we are going to go to the part and a photographer is going to take pictures of us while we play together”.

My Family

Photo by: Reflection Photography, edited by me :)

I hope this helps make planning your session easier for your next family photos! If you would like more advice on preparing and information about the session process and pricing please download my session guide below!

My name is Jennifer Tavera, owner, photographer and gallery designer for Truth Photography LLC. I have created beautiful custom portraiture for my clients here in the Denver and Boulder Colorado areas for the past 12 years! I specialize in growing families including children, maternity, and newborn. I love what I do and I cannot wait to share my passion with all of you.

As a busy mom myself, I understand that you need a photographer who will go the extra mile to help you with every aspect of creating cherished imagery of your family.

I would love to become YOUR family photographer and can't wait for us to get to know each other better!

Model Squad Highlight baby Ellie {Northglenn CO Children's photographer}

As a family and children’s photographer in the Denver and Boulder metro area for the last 10 year (12 if you count my time in a children’s portraits studio) I have found one of my very favorite types of sessions are themed children’s sessions. I love creating new sets, planning clothing and props, and bringing a vision to life. It was with that in mind that I created my model squad program, a small group of children ages newborn to 13 years old, who participate in monthly themed shoots for my portfolio and website. My little models help me test out new locations props and outfits and help me have new photos to show on social media on a regular basis. In return they receive a monthly session and print at a huge discount! Little Ellie ha been part of my model squad now since last fall and since she knows me and is comfortable with my now she never fails to bring her best smiles to the session! Her session in May was just so ADORABLE I have to show it off today!!!!

Wondering what the model squad is all about, here is a bit of a preview of what to expect. Some of my favorite images from Ellie’s previous shoots.

Want to get more information in enrolling your child in the program? I have a limited number of spots and once they are filled I will close enrollment. You can read more and sign up while spots are available here:

Interested in information about family, maternity, newborn sessions including indoor and outdoor newborn session options, cake smash sessions or custom designed shoot for your child? Contact me here:

Don’t miss a thing: Receive twice a month emails from me with exclusive monthly product specials available only to my insiders, previews of upcoming session deals, fun local events or ideas for kids activities and more as part of my insider’s club. Sign up below.

My name is Jennifer Tavera, the photographer behind Truth Photography. I am a Northglenn Colorado family photographer and gallery designer seeking adventurous, free spirited families. I believe that your life is epic and deserves to be captured with photography!

I specializes in creating unique photo sessions that will be an adventure for your child or family and turning the finished portraits into beautiful wall art for your home. I can’t wait to photograph your next adventure!!

~Jennifer Tavera Photographer and Gallery designer