Shutterfly

• How do I make it fun?
• How do I transform an everyday indoor space for a great family photo?
• How do I find the right outdoor space and light?
• How do I control the chaos of an outdoor photo shoot?

Move the furniture and create a stage for your family to express themselves on.

Move the furniture and create a stage for your family to express themselves.
When you're indoors, and especially when you are in your own home, you want to make this a fun experience, Anna Schechter advises. You want to turn an everyday space and an everyday ho-hum activity into something that is a game. So that there's no grumbling involved.

They think they know what's coming but they have no idea. Stop. Jump up and down as high as you can. Ready set go. One, two, three, jump. One, two, three, jump. What that's going to do is light up their faces. Expressions that you can capture. There's no way to get that by saying ‘say cheese’. You have to get them in the moment."

One of the ways to transform an everyday space to make it more fun for your children. Pick one object, move the couch - pick it up, take it out. Make that space a whole new place for the kids to play. Anything that's going to get them to show their true selves. You need to show what your children look like when nobody's looking. Something that you see that no one else sees. It's the idea of capturing that and putting it on your card.

Playing with outdoor toys can create great photo opportunities.

Playing with outdoor toys can create great photo opportunities.
Try to shoot in the morning or in the afternoon.. A, because kids might be in a better mood. Also the light tends to be better when it's not directly overhead. I would also suggest you would find open shade. Somewhere that when you sit the person in it it's smooth, smooth light, no speckling. Now, no matter what kind of movement you have it's going to be a good picture.

When you move outside to take your photos it's a whole new world of possibilities. But it can also be overwhelming because it can be sort of mayhem. And you're going to have to find a way to control the chaos. So, one of the ways you can do that is to have a few ideas in mind that you'd like to try. And then be flexible. Go with the flow. Let kids take a break. Don't force them to do anything for more than five or ten minutes at a time. That's just not realistic.

Keep in mind what you know about your kids and your family. What do they do that could get them energized, happy, smiling, and not thinking of the photo shoot? Only you know that about your family.