So you have outdoor holiday photos coming up and you’re planning outfits.
There are some VERY important things to keep in mind, especially if you’ll have kiddos with you in the photos. Even kids who are generally well-tempered and even-keeled can get a little crazy on picture day. It’s just the way it is. Add cold weather to your session and things could get really crazy. So it’s important that you prepare as if everything will go badly, (and I only say that because I want these photos to turn out AWESOME for every single person who books them, and I’ve had a little practice photographing kids).
!!! Before browsing outfit ideas, make sure you read ALL of the tips in this post. They will help. I promise !!!
1. FOOT AND HAND WARMERS ARE ESSENTIAL
Before you plan anything else, I want you to make sure you get hand warmers and toe warmers. When you are in the car on your way to the session, break open the hand and toe warmers and make sure they go under your kiddos socks. The easiest way to make someone warmer or colder is through the feet, so instead of layering 10 pairs of socks, choose a pair of thin socks to put under a pair of THICK socks, and insert foot or toe warmer on the bottom of the THICK sock to prevent burning their feet. This will keep your kids feeling warmer longer. You can also get a tank top with a built-in shelf bra or a child’s sports bra and put one warmer in the front and one in the back. You can use these on boys and girls. No one will see it in the photos, but they will be kept happy from the warmth.
The body warmers are better than the hand warmers but do take longer to heat up.
I will have hand and toe warmers for everyone at my Christmas mini shoots, but keep in mind they take time to get warm. If you don’t have any of your own, make sure you arrive 10 minutes early and have ONE adult from your family come check-in and get warmers for the kiddos. That leads me to my next tip.
2. Stay in your car with the heater on until we’re ready for you
When you arrive at the photo location, keep the kids in your car with the heater on until we are ready for you. We will need one adult to get checked in at least 5 minutes before your scheduled appointment time, and you’ll want to keep everyone else in the car to minimize time spent in the cold. With that in mind, I want to spend your entire appointment photographing a variety of images, so please be ready to go. Picture day is stressful, so I tell everyone to PLAN to be ready 1-2 hours before the actual time. This way, you’re bound to be on time AND you should get time to decompress and breathe before the photoshoot instead of rushing out the door with 5 kids screaming and an angry husband and your makeup not finished.
3. Dress in layers!!!
Especially the kids. Make sure everyone has on at least 2 shirts and a pair of either thick tights, leggings, or long underwear on under their pants. And bring all the winter essentials, in case kids are extra cold. Don’t worry, winter coats, hats, and gloves are SO cute in outdoor photos and will not ruin the look. Like I said, plan for the worst, and your session will go great. I don’t say this to make you nervous or think you won’t get good photos, you ABSOLUTELY WILL. Read the next tip for more on this.
4. Photos never go 100% as planned & try not to get stressed out by that
Sometimes things will go exactly as planned for photos, but let’s be real, usually not. It doesn’t mean those photos won’t be amazing! They will. But think about it like this. Do you ever think a kid will react a certain way to a gift you got them and they don’t? Like.. not even close? But the stick their brother found outside is the coolest thing they’ve ever seen? Photos with kids are kind of like that. You have this awesome vision in mind and can see your kids acting a certain way in your head, but when photos start, suddenly your kid is acting differently than what you imagined. That’s ok. That’s Normal.
Think of your photos as an experience. Or a movie. And I’m simply pausing the experience or the movie to savor the emotions. Your photos will look less stiff and you’ll appear more like yourselves.
Remember that every kid is different, and every kid has a different part of their personality come out during photos. They might get shy, excited, scared, hyper, energetic, or sad. I’ve trained a lot of photographers to photograph kids, and this is normal. It’s always a big hurdle for photographers, as most lose their confidence when they start photographing -real- kids, because everything is harder than they expected. Kids don’t listen, or aren’t interested, or want to play with toys instead— even if you practiced smiling with them for weeks. But I promise, it is normal. If your kid poses and smiles perfectly for every photo, they are a rarity and you could make bank getting them into modeling 😂 All this to say, if you go with the flow and let me work some magic (even in the moments you think no magic is happening), I promise we will create something AWESOME.
I know you’re not after the sad faces or scared faces. You want the happy child who makes you smile. But if they’re not giving that right off the bat, try not to stress out, they feel your stress and will only act worse. Stay calm. They feed off of your energy. And remember, child brains work differently than adult brains. They need fun and silly and hate being told what to do. They are easily distracted by funny things and funny memories. So if you have a story they always laugh about, instead of telling them “Johnny, you better smile!” think of a funny memory and see if they laugh when they remember. I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve I’ll use with them too.
And I have no problem letting the kids be in charge (don’t worry, I’m really the one in charge, they just need to feel like they are) and you will end up with the cutest photos. If you’re worried about me making them boss— don’t! It’s a great tactic and kids LOVE being in charge.
5. Bring snacks but DON’T tell the kids you have them. These should be a last resort option only.
Once we bring them out, it’s all your kid will be thinking about, and it could make things worse. I’m all about bribery, but it has to be used right to be effective. And non-messy snacks are best. I like using sour patch kids or something small that won’t get them messy or be too distracting if they’re eating it in a picture. And it’s best to rip off a little piece at a time. Sometimes a little sugar turns kids into happy free-spirited humans in photos, and sometimes it makes them hyperactive monsters who just run faster from the camera. So wait until it’s absolutely necessary!
6. HAVE FUN!!! And put your trust in me!!!
Truly, I don’t want you to feel nervous. I do want you to have realistic expectations of how your kids may act. That does not mean we won’t get great photos! You will love them & I cannot WAIT to create them with you!!
Now for some holiday photo ideas:
Holiday Photo Outfit Inspiration
-Dress in layers. (don’t forget hand, body, and toe warmers!! Make sure socks are thick.)
-Pops of RED look amazing for holiday photos
-Don’t forget to fill out the client form ;)
-You can’t go wrong with Christmas pajamas
-Here are some general ideas that will also keep everyone warm!
If you haven’t done so already,
be sure to fill out a client form so I can better plan your session.
This helps me know how many people I’ll be photographing, who will be Santa, and have a game plan for your session. You can find the form here
Thanks! I can’t wait to create holiday memories with you!
More outfit ideas for Christmas photos with Santa:
For more tips on choosing the right outfit, you can see my post on fall outfits, which has tips to style and flatter your specific body type. You can see that post here