Oh photos with little ones. The joys and the pain. I know it, I’ve been there both behind the camera and in front of it. Here are a few of my favorite tips to help get wonderful photos of this crazy time of life.

1. Good Prep!
This is absolutely essential. If baby is hungry (ask me how I know) or sister’s sweater is itchy there’s nothing I as a photographer can do to fix it. Making sure everyone is as fed, rested and comfortable as possible with make things go so much smoother.

2. Have fun poses
Making sure you have some movement planned can really get the kids involved. These can be as simple as “hey can you show me that stick you have”? Or more complicated, “everyone go and tackle hug dad!” There are lots of ideas on Pinterest if you’re doing a DIY photoshoot or hire a photographer who has experience shooting these little tornados.

3. Let the kids be part of the action
This one was a big game changer for my family. I bought my 3 year old a $12 camera off amazon (it’s probably nicer than my first camera anyway haha!) and let her bring it whenever I wanted her to do a photoshoot for me. Then we took turns taking pictures. This could easily be accomplished with a phone camera, but the little pink one was really fun for us.

4. Forget perfect
Try to find joy in this crazy season. It’s never going to be flawless, but that doesn’t mean your images can’t be perfect. Sad faces are cute too!