Fall Family Photo Session Checklist

23 items · Lifestyle · Easy difficulty · 2 hours

Plan a fall family photo session: booking, outfits, a bag for the kids, the must-have shot list and saving the gallery before it expires.

• Decide what the photos are for: holiday cards, prints for the wall, or both

  Cards need a few wide shots with room for text. Wall prints need a handful you love.

• Book the photographer early
• Ask what the fee includes

  How many edited photos, how long until delivery, how long the online gallery stays up, and whether you can print them yourself.

• Agree a rain date or a covered backup location
• Pick a time near sunset, and around the kids' naps and meals
• Choose a location with some open shade and space for kids to move
• Write the must-have shot list
• Choose a color palette of two or three shades for everyone's outfits

  Coordinated colors look better than identical outfits.

• Avoid big logos, slogans and very fine stripes

  Fine stripes can shimmer oddly on camera.

• Plan a warm layer that still fits the palette

  Nobody smiles when they are cold.

• Book haircuts a week or two before, not the day before
• If a pet is coming, check with the photographer and bring someone to handle it
• Wash, iron or steam the outfits the day before and lay them out
• Pack the photo-day bag
• Snacks that won't stain, water and wipes

  Skip anything red or chocolate until after the session.

• A spare outfit for the youngest, a hairbrush and a lint roller
• A small treat to bribe the kids for the last few shots
• Arrive 15 minutes early so the kids can settle before the camera comes out
• Give the photographer your shot list at the start
• Put phones away and let the kids play between posed shots

  The candid ones often end up on the wall.

• Pick your favorites from the gallery before any selection deadline
• Download the full-size files and back them up

  Online galleries often expire.

• Order holiday cards and prints with time to spare before your mailing date

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