To me, Fall means many things. Family time, sweet treats, pumpkins, decorations, and family photos! I would say that I am a bit obsessed with documenting certain family traditions – and happy to admit it! 🙂 My kids are growing so fast, and I want to make memories and have some fun photos to look back on. This post is all about how to make the most of these photo-rific moments during these cooler months that happen to be filled with holidays!

Before I jump in – let me say one thing. I’m using our Christmas photos as an example for this post, but this applies to any holiday. Easter, a first birthday, family photos with grandparents, etc. No matter what – these tips apply. Hope it helps! Read on!

Picking a Photographer

This step is very important because you are going to want to pick someone who has a style you like and can help you with your vision.

These are the things I look for in a photographer:

• Has great overall Yelp reviews (I always take Yelp with a grain of salt but it’s a good starting point)
• Has photo examples on IG, a blog, etc. that have a style you like
• Easy to communicate with via email and/or phone
• Has fun ideas and can help you with your overall vision for the photo shoot
• Is willing to look at photo examples that you like for the upcoming shoot
• Has recommendations for settings, props and more
• Has availability on dates and times that work for you and your family

Date & Theme:

• Book a date. Picking the right date and time is important when planning your photos. Select a date that gives you plenty of time to order your outfits and props, but also gives you plenty of time to order cards for your friends/family without paying for rush shipping. My kids still nap so I chose a morning slot to meet with Beth. We launched into photos right away to ensure our kids were in a great mood. It was busy but fun! Talk to your photographer about your ideal date and time to ensure it is available for you. Booking early is key!
• Talk to your photographer. Reach out to your photographer about theme and photo ideas. Our fave family photographer is Beth from Dekker Photography. She and I talked about various holiday photo ideas and she had a great one that included a white background and making it look like the kids taped us to the wall! Ha! I loved it and ordered red and green tape from Amazon to make it happen. Your photographer has experience – so it’s worth talking to them about what ideas they have. Beth had a great idea and I’m in love with how our photos turned out!

Getting Organized:

• Keep it simple. Don’t overdue it. Taking photos with kids can be tricky and if you have too many outfit changes – they may get cranky (trust me)! For our holiday photos this year, we picked 2 outfits (formal and casual) and went for it! That left more time for taking fun pictures vs. taking lots of time changing outfits and making my kids mad.
• Pick colors that work with your theme. For our holiday photos I wanted to play with black, red and white. That made picking outfits fun and easy. Try seeing what you already have on hand and add to it with the small things. My husband has a tux from being in several friends weddings, so I ordered him a red holiday bowtie from Amazon – for cheap! I had a black lace shirt and ordered the red skirt and belt from Amazon. I got the shirt and dress for my kids from Kidizen for a serious deal (details about the Kidizen app coming soon in another post)! I already had the shoes and pants – so big win for mommy! For our casual photos I picked some super adorable matching family PJs from Sleepyheads. They are comfortable and so much fun! Not to mention we will use them throughout the holidays for sleep and snuggle time! Honestly, you don’t need to spend a ton to look good in your photos!
• Pick props. This is super fun and a moment to get creative. Again – you don’t need to spend a lot of money on great props! Etsy is always a fantastic resource for ready made props and even some bargain print outs. If you want to get crafty, you can make your own props. This year, I used cardboard and a sharpie to make a fun sign for the kids to hold for photos. I also purchased some large canvas letters and red paint from Michaels which ended up being perfect for our NOEL photos. They were $7.99 per letter and Michaels always has great coupons so I totally got extra $$ off my total! It was so much cheaper than purchasing them online, and painting them red was easy and fun!
• Special items make for great memories. Sofia has a bunny that is her absolute favorite in the world. For Christmas last year, I found her bunny in a red holiday dress. I brought it with us for the photos and it is not only cute, but it is a special memory that she will be able to look back on when she gets older.
• Relax and enjoy the moment. We got some silly photos of the kids playing around that were completely unplanned and unscripted. We sat back and let them get silly while Beth took photos. Those are special moments between siblings that make for perfect memories.

The Day Of:

To help ensure the day goes well, try these tips…

• Full belly = happy kids. Give your kids a snack before you leave the house. A glass of milk, some cereal with fruit, string cheese, etc. Get some yummy snacks with some protein into their belly to help tide them over and put them in a good mood.
• Have fun! Sing songs and play games in the car. It helps to keep them happy until you arrive at the location for your photo session.
• Pack toys and snacks. This sounds silly but is a MUST! Kids need distractions and snacks. My advice is to pack snacks that don’t get super messy (you don’t want to stain their photo clothes). Cheerios and crackers work well for my kids. Snacks are also important in case any of you have a hubby who gets “hangry” like mine! 😉 Bring water to keep them hydrated (and if it spills it will dry without a mark). A special post photo session treat is great as well. We used lollipops as a bribe as the kids started to get tired. It totally helped get them excited and ready to smile so we could get the last photos done. Once we got them into their casual clothes, they got the lollipops and were SUPER happy! Beth had toys on hand (big win) – and I brought our ipads and some favorite toys for both kids.

I hope this helps as you plan your own holiday photos! Direct links to shop my outfit and other fave items from our own photo shoot are below. Comment with any questions. I’m happy to help! xoxo

To connect with Beth from Dekker Photography, you can reach out via her website. She is amazing and has worked with us for years. She has literally taken photos of our family from the start when it was just Dan and I. She is fun, caring, and professional. Not to mention incredibly talented! Our kids now call her auntie Beth – and she has helped us document some very special moments in our lives.

I’ve also partnered up with Sleepyheads.com and we’re doing a fun giveaway! You guys – I love their stuff! They have the cutest PJs for pretty much every holiday! Who wants to win some super comfy and crazy cute PJs for their fam? I do! I do! For details – go to my Instagram for details and entry! Hurry – don’t delay!

Links to shop:

Mommy –

Daddy –

Family PJs –

Props –