A peek into your selection appointment {Colorado Mountain Family Photographer}

I started to write this blog post almost a month ago now. I had it “fully finished” and just needed to add images and schedule it to publish. Then as if she knew I needed to know what clients were thinking when going into their selection appointment, I had a client ask if the selection appointment was required. I explained yes I require them since it is too difficult to put your order together via emails back and forth and doing the selection appointment is actually less work for me. Then she explained why she was concerned about meeting for her image selection.

The last session they had had with a photographer had gone great, but the appointment with him after did not go so well. After discussing it with her for a while I realized what had really gone so wrong is they had gone into with no idea what to expect. Their photographer hadn’t really given them any information on what would happen at the meeting or what prices for their products looked like. In addition, their photographer had used a common “this is the only time you can buy these” tactic that is honestly meant to scare clients into buying more so they don’t “lose the images”.

I take a totally different approach to my appointments. My job at the selection appointment isn’t to scare you into buying your images now. I actually want to go into this meeting having already discussed with you what you are hoping to purchase from the session based on your needs and budget. My job at these meetings is to simply help you choose the best images for the products you have selected and make sure you LOVE the finished art! So that said let’s take a look at the process from start to finish so you know exactly what to expect from your appointment.

First, you may be asking, “what is a selection appointment?” The selection appointment happens around two weeks after your session once I have edited all the best images from your session. I will come to your home and help you “select” the images you want to hang in your home and then the products you want to use to display them. Today I want to go through what the selection appointment looks like so you know what to expect when I arrive for yours!

Viewing the images

The first thing that I will do for your selection appointment is to show you all of the edited images as a slide show. Because I use an online program to show your images, I will first need to log into your wifi so make sure to have your login information handy.

After I am logged in I will show you all of the images in a slideshow format. Just sit back, enjoy the show and maybe make a mental note of any favorites.

Narrowing down the images

Next, I’ll help you narrow down the images for your wall art. We will go through the images one by one and I’ll have you tell me if it’s a favorite or not. If you are thinking “but I love them all” no problem, if you are purchasing a wall art set or Storybox valued at $1,000 or more you will receive all the images shown as digital files. If you choose to just get a few images you will receive matching digital files for all images selected.

Creating your wall art

By this point, you should have had several opportunities to view my session planning guide that shows all of my products and the pricing. Hopefully, you have a good idea of what wall art you are interested in before we meet so we can focus on putting your favorite images on those products. I will take this time to show you what the images would look like on those products on the wall. We can play with different images and layouts in the designer until we find the perfect wall art to fit your home.

Ordering your products

After we have wall art selected and any additional gift items you need I will submit your order for you. The payment for all collections or a la carte items is due at your selection meeting. After your products are ordered your digital files will be delivered via an online gallery within one week and you can download them from there, your printed products normally take around 2 weeks but can take up to 4 weeks to arrive and I will personally deliver them to your home when they arrive.

Watch me create a gallery on IGTV https://www.instagram.com/tv/By3uiowFfl1/

If you are interested in learning more I would love to set up a consultation with you via video chat. We will discuss all of the details of your session, the selection appointment, pricing and more so you are comfortable with the whole process before you book. Fill out the form below to set up a consultation!

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 13 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!

The Old Barn, Boulder CO {Denver Photoshoot Locations}

The old barn in Boulder has been one of my most requested locations for a long time. The barn, mountains, tall grass, nearby river and sunflowers in the fall make it a beautiful location for family, children’s and maternity sessions. This is one location I would not recommend for outdoor newborn sessions.

Best time of year for this location:

This location is beautiful year-round however I do not recommend this location right after it rains or snows or any time of year that the mosquito population is high. Because of the tall grass and nearby river I have on occasion been to this location when it was wet and mushy or when the mosquitos where completely out of control. I prefer this as a fall location personally but have used it in every season!

Best time of day for this location:

Sunset!! There is little shade except right up against the barn and you can’t really use this location to get the best looks shooting other times of the day so I highly recommend an evening/sunset session for this location.

Parking:

Parking is a little complicated at this location, there really isn’t any, but there is plenty of room to park cars on the dirt shoulder off of the road.

Other info for this location:

While this location is a little more off the beaten path than most Boulder spots it can still get crowded in the fall so expect to work around other photographers and families that time of year. I highly recommend you bring bug spray just in case for this location as noted above the bugs sometimes get bad here.

Get more information about a session at this location:

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!

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!

Clear Creek History Park, Golden CO {Denver Photoshoot Locations}

Part of the planning process for your photo session is of course picking the perfect location. There are so many amazing locations in the Denver and Boulder areas that it can be hard to choose which is best and I find myself often emailing or texting images back and forth to clients. So in an effort to make my job and your choice easier I am starting a series of blogs featuring all of my favorite locations with a variety of images and details on each location. I hope this will give you as my clients a better look at what a session at each of these locations looks like and help you choose the one that is right for your session! So here is the first of many locations I love for sessions!

I chose this location as my first to feature because it has so many different looks within a short walk from each other. Believe it or not all of the spots shown below are within a 5-minute walk from one another.

Best time of year for this location:

Year-round, with the great old buildings and beautiful spots along the river this location has some great spot even in the winter when the trees are dead.

Best time of day for this location:

Honestly, the answer to this for almost all of my locations is sunset, if you would like the mountains behind you or the shot with the white schoolhouse you are going to want a sunset session however this location does have some spots where shade can be found for morning sessions.

Parking:

This location free parking for the park and additional parking on the river side at the library. When we plan your session I will tell you which side to meet me on based on where I plan to start your session.

Other info for this location:

The biggest conflict for this location is local festivals. Make sure to check Golden’s festival schedule to see if anything is scheduled near the park. I do not book this location during the weekend of Buffalo Bill Days or other large festivals in the area. Check the festival schedule here: https://www.visitgolden.com/events/festivals-of-golden/

Get more information on a session at this location:

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!

Choosing clothing for family photos {Denver Family Photographer}

As of last weekend, my busy fall season is in fall swing! The one question I get the most in this season of family portraits is what should we wear? Here are some tips for choosing the perfect outfits for the whole family!

Dress Mom First

There is a 99% chance that if you are reading this you are a mom. Normally mom is the one planning family photos and picking clothing for everyone. So, mom lets start in your closet. One of the most important things for a family photo session is that you are comfortable and love the way you look. Let's face it, ladies if we hate our outfit or the way we look we will not love the portraits and will never hang it on our wall. So what do you have in your closet that makes you LOVE the way you look? Or better yet, let’s go shopping! Right now I don’t want you to worry about colors or patterns, no matter what you choose I can help you match it to the rest of your family for outfits that coordinate perfectly. The most important thing to think about is your body shape and what will flatter your body and make you look and feel amazing in your portraits. Check out this video I created about dressing for your body shape a few years ago for tips on how to dress for you!

Still feeling lost? 

You may also want to consider borrowing a gown from my client closet for a more formal look All of my gowns come from a company that creates them to look amazing on all women so even though you will see them used mostly for maternity sessions on my website, they also look amazing on mama’s that aren’t expecting. I plan to wear one of them for my next family session!

Make sure you can sit

You will be sitting on the ground in a variety of positions for many of the poses. Avoid short skirts (especially on little girls) and white pants, really anything you won’t be comfortable sitting on the grass in or that you can’t sit in a variety of poses in modestly.

Coordinate DON’T match! 

Now that you have your clothing chosen let's look at the rest of the family. If you have chosen something with a pattern that has several colors we can use the colors from your clothing to choose colors for everyone else. If you chose a solid color then I normally recommend looking to see if someone else in the family has a patterned outfit with that color in it. For example a floral dress for your daughter or plaid or another patterned shirt on your husband or son. This photo is a great example because of that plaid shirt on her son. It’s also a great example of my next point using layers.

Before I get to that I wanted to show you this sample however from a recent maternity shoot. This is one example of choosing coordinated colors without using a pattern which can also work great if you choose colors that just look amazing together! 

Layers look best

Don’t be afraid to layer your clothing, especially now that the weather will be getting a little cooler. Some ways to add layers can include sweaters, scarves, jewelry, jackets, floral crowns, bow ties, sports coats, etc. Layers not only add some visual interest but they can also be a great way to pull the group together into a cohesive look. Using a necklace, scarf, sweater or tie to pull in one of the colors another family member is wearing helps with coordinating the group as a whole. This is a great example of this, mom wore this scarf to pull in the yellow from her daughters dress.

Shoes matter

Yes, your shoes will show and no I cannot hide them in every portrait, so please don’t forget about them. I don’t know about you but all of my kid's shoes are brightly colored and have characters. So if you need to go buy them some dress shoes or plain colored shoes don’t leave it until the last minute. Nothing worse than spending hours to put together outfits only to have Spiderman or Hello Kitty shoes on your kids' feet

Need a little help? 

I hope all of these tips have helped you out figuring out what to wear from your session. If you are still in need of some help, send me a picture. Just something simple lay it all out on your bed and take a snapshot. Don’t forget to include shoes, jewelry, etc in the picture. I would love to take a look to see if I have any suggestions or tell you what colors I would use to tie the look together. Plus seeing your clothing colors and styles helps me plan the look of the session before we get started so I can get the best images for you from your session! 

 Interested in more information about a session with me? Fill out the form below and I’ll email you my session guide!

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!

Morrison Area Mountain Maternity Session {Golden Co Pregnancy Photographer}

I was so excited when Rosie contacted me for a maternity shoot last month! After a brief chat with her on the phone to discuss a session I knew that I was going to have so much fun creating the perfect look for her and shooting this session. She was very open to me styling the session and choosing a location that I thought would be great for it, her only request? Wildflowers! We lucked out by not only finding a spot with some beautiful wildflowers but with mountain views as well! Just for an added touch I snipped the flowers she is holding here from my garden before leaving for her session because you can never have too many flowers!!!

Rosie is wearing one of the newest gowns in my maternity collections. While I have looked at many dress companies I always wind up back at the same one when I purchase a new dress because the quality and beautiful styles just cannot be found anywhere else. The dress she is wearing here is the Angela dress by Sew Trendy Accessories, my clients have access to my dresses for their session and I often purchase new gowns for specific sessions but if you are a fellow photographer checking out this blog post and want a discount on their gowns my affiliate link will get you 15% off!

http://i.refs.cc/iG3B30FA?smile_ref=eyJzbWlsZV9zb3VyY2UiOiJzbWlsZV91aSIsInNtaWxlX21lZGl1bSI6IiIsInNtaWxlX2NhbXBhaWduIjoicmVmZXJyYWxfcHJvZ3JhbSIsInNtaWxlX2N1c3RvbWVyX2lkIjo5NTk0NDA3Mn0%3D

I had another shoot in this gown back in May and I knew I wanted to create a completely different look for Rosie. I’m the first session we paired the dress with a shirt for dad that was a darker blue green color and with a cream colored dress on their daughter and it looked amazing together be as I was chatting with Rosie I suddenly pictured the gown with reds and when I asked her what she thought she loved the idea! So I created the floral crown she is wearing to tie her dress together with her husbands shirt and she did a great job completing the look by painting her nails red to match!

At the last minute I added my favorite necklace for a sweetheart neckline and it definitely has me thinking that I need to add some more bold necklaces like this to my client collection to help complete the look for sessions like this!!

I have to say however that the look would not have been complete without the help of Sabrina Deemer Makeup who did her hair and makeup for the shoot. https://www.facebook.com/sabrinadeemermakeup

If you are expecting this fall and would love to have a session custom styled for you from the gown and accessories to the final ready to hang gallery pieces for your home I would LOVE to be your photographer! I have maternity session openings starting in September but hurry spots are filing up quickly! You can find my contact form below if you would like to get more information on a session with me.

Contact me below for session information and openings.

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!

Gross Reservoir Maternity Session {Colorado Mountain Family Photographer}

Even after 10 years as a Colorado photographer I am always scouting out new and better locations for sessions. I actually spent my morning today checking out a few spots! Shortly after I first posted a session at this location last fall one of my favorite families asked about the location and told me they would like to do a session up there this spring or summer. When I saw them in December for their daughter’s Christmas photos, they told me there would be a change of plans, the family session we were planning for this location would be a maternity session since they were expecting their second child!

This locations is so perfect for Maternity photos and photos for families with young children. It has gorgeous views and you don’t have to walk far from the car to find the perfect spot. It was so perfect for this family who loves to be outdoors!

We already had the location chosen, that was the easy part, so the next thing was to decide what they would wear. I ordered this beautiful gown from my favorite maternity shop Sew Trendy (Fellow photographers can click for my affiliate link and a discount, if you are my client contact me before ordering anything, I have dresses available for use for my clients!) and gave Jennifer (yup this beautiful mama’s name is Jennifer too, I find that most Jennifer’s are pretty cool lol) the option of a few colors for the gown. I am so glad she chose this beautiful plum color, its is so perfect in this beautiful mountain setting. Her daughter’s dress is one from my children’s wardrobe collection and paired perfectly with the maternity gown and the shirt we found for her husband. Before the session I dropped by their home to let her try own the gown and custom crowns I made to match and to help her choose her husbands clothing for the session.

I love putting together the perfect look for my clients from location, to clothing to creating the perfect photos and products for them. I am excited to have another session coming up in this dress with a completely different look. Make sure to watch my Facebook Page for photos from that session.

Jennifer and Patrick’s sweet daughter Ember just thought the train on moms dress was a blanket to sit on. She loved to sit on it and play with it during the session!

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

Why choose an outdoor newborn session {Denver Outdoor newborn Photographer}

Outdoor newborn sessions are by far my favorite sessions for newborns. There is something about having a sweet new life surrounded by the beauty and majesty of nature that really inspires me. It is almost like taking a newborn on their first little adventure, here are a few reasons you may want to choose them for your summer baby:

Raise a nature lover

If you are like me and love nature and the outdoors, an indoor session may just not fit your style. Chances are too that your baby will love the outdoors as much as you do so this is a great way to introduce that love of nature to them, after all, they will be looking at these portraits for the rest of their lives.

To match your nature-inspired nursery

If your nursery is somehow nature-inspired, decorated with animals, butterfly’s or bugs, trees or anything else nature inspired what better way to finish the look than by hanging a beautiful canvas of your baby in nature in the room (and maybe even one of you pregnant with them!). I love to tie the nursery colors and themes into my newborn portraits so make sure to tell me if you have a nursery theme when you book.

You want something unique

Although outdoor newborn sessions have gained popularity in recent years the majority of parents still choose to do studio or in-home newborn sessions and only a few photographers in the area even offer the option of an outdoor session. If you love having something unique and want portraits that will be different from the newborn portraits your friends and family took with their baby these might be perfect for you!

A little more about outdoor newborn portraits: I can schedule outdoor sessions for newborns from May to September however I always have a backup plan to move the session to an indoor location if needed due to weather or the health of the baby or in most cases can offer a weather reschedule if you have your heart set on outdoor but the weather does not cooperate. Because of the time these sessions take (typically 2 hours) they are always scheduled for two hours before sunset and I cannot schedule them for locations without shade. I do not like to have the babies in the sun that long and the lighting can be too harsh at the beginning of the session for great portraits so shade is a must. If you want to learn more about these sessions and reserve your spot for this summer please visit www.truth-photography.com/contactme

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

4 tips for photo shoots with your toddler {Northglenn Colorado photographer}

Your baby is now walking, toddling around getting into everything and destroying your home. If they weren’t SO ADORABLE even when making a huge mess they may not survive their toddler years.

In all seriousness though it’s how quickly they are changing and how adorable they are that makes us want beautiful professional photos of them at this age, and it’s their rambunctious spirit and tendency to do the opposite of what we asked or hoped they would do that makes the idea stressful for most parents of toddlers. So for all of you mama’s who are longing for beautiful portraits of your toddler or family together to hang proudly on your wall like all of the other moms, this post is for you!

4 Tips for photo shoots with your toddler

Tip #1: Have realistic expectations

This one is always the hardest so I am starting with it first. The most important thing you can do to prepare for your shoot with your toddler is to have realistic expectations. Your toddler is very unlikely to cooperate right off the bat. They may be shy and take a few minutes to warm up the photographer and just want to hide behind you, they may be wild and just want to run around at the park or explore or play with the grass, but if you are expecting AMAZING smiling at the camera portraits in the first 5 minutes you are going to wind up frustrated and feeling defeated very quickly. When I photograph a toddler, the first few minutes for me are about capturing them as they are. .It’s not about the “perfect smiling portrait at this point. I will sit, talk to them see what they do, see how they react to different games, let them do their own thing as a snap a few photos and then see if I can get them to look at me.

I don’t like to push too hard at the very beginning and overwhelm them and sometimes I can see parents start to panic within even a few minutes or feel like they need to step in and try to get a smile. The problem is that then the child is interacting with and LOOKING at you, not the camera. There are times that I ask parents to get a babies attention or make them smile but if your baby is relaxed and just doing their own thing hold off on this for just a moment. Let me capture some moments of them just being them, learning, exploring a new place, being a toddler. Sometimes these wind up being the favorite photos from the session.

Tip #2: Make sure to hire a professional who is experienced with toddlers

Honestly could just say here make sure to hire me, I have 12 years experience as a professional photographer and specialize in children’s and family portraiture, but in case you stumbled across this blog and are not in the Denver or Boulder Colorado areas here is what you should look for when hiring a photographer.

When it comes to photographing a wiggly toddler you are going to want someone who has worked with toddlers long enough to know how to capture great portraits of them whether they sit perfectly and smile or run around and don’t stay still for more than two seconds. Ask your photographer how long they have been in business AND what types of photography they specialize in to make sure you are getting someone who really knows what they are doing.

Tip #3: Bribes are great but…

Trying to bride a toddler to cooperate is a double-edged sword. While it can produce the results you want just as often I see it go horribly wrong, so here are a few things to consider when deciding if you want to try to bride or reward your toddler for cooperating.

First, toddlers have short attention spans and once a treat is mentioned you have a very short time to produce the promised reward before most toddlers will go from cooperation to meltdown. For this reason, I recommend NOT promising a toddler any sort of reward before the session or in the first few minutes of the session. Bribes and rewards should be saved as last resorts. Instead, tell them how fun the session will be and that they are going to go play games and have fun. This rule applies to preschoolers as well although the meltdowns at that age over not getting their reward right away don’t come quite as quickly.

Never show the child the reward unless you are prepared to give it to them, and have it in any photos from that point on. Again seeing the reward and not immediately receiving it normally just results in tears. If you want to get clever with it was can plan the reward into the session. I once had a family bring those giant multi-colored spiral lollipops as a reward for the session and we ended the session with a fun, casual family photo of all of them eating the lollipops. It was a great way to reward the kids and grab some fun unique photos at the session and if you let me know about the plan in advance I can even prepare a few props to go with the theme.

Tip #4: Don’t be afraid to bring a favorite toy

Yes a photo shoot with me is about capturing the perfect photo but its also about capturing the memories and moments you want to remember! Pick something you WANT to have in the photos. The same rule applies to toy as it does to bribes, don’t let your child know you have t until you are ready to have it in the rest of the photos for the shoot, but it can be perfect for the end of the session when your child is getting bored with being there to pull it out and capture a few more shots of your little one planing and just doing what they do.

Although this may not be what most photographers would consider a "perfect shot" as a mom to me it's perfect. I know years from now it will remind me of how much my son LOVED firetrucks at this age.

Want to have me photograph your toddler? My Monday milestones are perfect short sessions for capturing your child alone at this age. You can find more information 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

Want to stay up to date on the latest news, events and session openings AND receive tips on fun activities in the area in your inbox? Join my insider's club to make sure you don’t miss a thing!

How to coordinate your family for spring portraits {Northglenn CO Family Photographer}

Planning outfits for family session can be one of the hardest parts of planning a family photo session, especially if you don’t know how to properly coordinate so everyone looks great together, while still having their own look and style. Outfits can make or break a photo session which is why I put so much emphasis on helping you choose your outfits and making sure to match the look of your session to your outfits. You will often see me post advice on choosing clothing for your session on Facebook or blog posts like this one, however that doesn’t mean you’re alone from here, part of my session workflow is talking to you about outfits and helping you choose base on your family, style and home decor (they need to look great hanging in your home!).

Below I am giving not only my best advice for choosing the perfect outfits but also two samples of styles I love for spring!

Coordinate don’t match

Ok I know that I sound like a broken record here. If you have been following me any amount of time you have probably heard me say this, but it is so important! Go search family portraits on Pinterest or Google and note a few portraits you really love. Are they all dressed in matching blue shirts and jeans or khakis? I’m guessing your answer there was no. Most likely they are wearing 2-4 colors mixed between the group, which is what I always recommend to my clients. In the examples below I kept it easy by choosing 2 main colors that you could also pair with a neutral (I suggest white, cream or khaki/tan for spring sessions). You will typically want to mix the colors evenly throughout the family. I have more tips below on how to make that happen!

Dress mom first

When choosing clothing for family portraits its typically best to start with your clothing mom. I do this for one main reason, if you don’t love the way you look, you won’t love the portraits. Choose something that fits well, baggy clothing will make you look bigger than you are. Make sure to select a style that flatters your body type, and most importantly choose something that you LOVE the way you look in. I love of floral pattern on mom so that you can easily choose two colors from your outfit for the rest of the family, however this can also be done from your daughter’s dress or a patterned shirt or tie on your husband or son. Or if you choose a solid color and want to keep it simple you can use neutrals to mix it up.

Don’t be afraid of patterns

For the longest time I recommended solid colors for portraits, its what I was trained to say back in my studio days, but it made some some pretty boring portraits. Over time I realized that many of the family photos I was drawn to where those where the family was not afraid of a little pattern. I already talked about dressing mom in a floral or pattern above, but her pattern does not mean the rest of the family need so go for a solid color, a few ways to use patterns without making it overwhelming are to dress one of the boys in a plaid or striped shirt or a subtle pattern like small spots or shapes throughout the shirt.

Use your accessories for balance

This is one of the most overlooked tips when coordinating families. Lay out all of the outfits and see what colors you need more of. For example, if you chose yellow and blue and mom is in a blue dress but your little girl is in a yellow and blue dress and your huband’s tie has a bit of yellow you may want to add more yellow to the mix. Try adding a yellow necklace or sweater to your outfit. The best items for balancing the colors are jewelry, scarves, sweaters, floral crowns, other hair accessories, ties or bow ties, vests and suspenders. Use them wisely to add pops of color or balance out the colors as needed.

The mint and coral look

I found this mint and coral dress that I absolutely love for family portraits and used it for the base of this family look. For your convenience all of the clothing shown below is linked from Amazon so if you see something you love you can click straight over there to purchase (full disclosure, these are affiliate links) however you could easily take these ideas and find clothing from your own closet or local stores as well. The main idea is to show a variety of ideas that can be used for different families no matter the number or ages of the children.

The Dusty Rose and Blue set

I have to admit these colors were actually harder to coordinate and find however I wanted to show a look with matching mommy and me dresses since I love this idea for portraits and while they are great for mommy and me sessions they can be used for family sessions as well.

I hope these tips and ideas help when planning for your family.

Limited edition Spring Bloom session dates and time for families will be announced soon. Make sure to contact me if you would like to be notified when sessions open so I can add you to the wait list!

Want to receive more tips like these? Make sure to join my insider’s club for tips, deals and info on local events!

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