Let me be real with you: family photo sessions with young kids are almost never perfectly calm. There's usually at least one moment where someone cries, refuses to cooperate, or decides now is the perfect time to run in the opposite direction. I've photographed enough sessions to know that this is completely normal — and it doesn't ruin anything.
The families who have the best sessions aren't the ones with the most obedient kids. They're the ones who came in relaxed and prepared. Here are my five most important tips for making your next session feel as stress-free as possible.
Time the session around your kids' best window
Every kid has a "good window" during the day — a stretch of an hour or two when they're at their best. Not too hungry, not too tired, not post-nap grumpy. For most toddlers and young kids, this is mid-morning, about an hour after breakfast.
For outdoor sessions, I recommend evening golden hour (typically 1–2 hours before sunset) for the light — but if you have a toddler who melts down every evening before dinner, morning light can be beautiful too. Tell me about your kids' schedules when you book and we'll find a time that works for both the light and your family's rhythm.
Timing note for nap-takers: Never schedule a session to start right as nap time ends. The grumpiness is real and it takes 20–30 minutes to pass. Give yourself a buffer.
Don't tell them to smile — do this instead
The fastest way to get a stiff, awkward photo is to say "okay, everyone smile!" It produces the same face every kid makes when a stranger takes out a camera: the forced grimace-grin. You know the one.
Instead, get them laughing. Right before I'm ready to shoot, I'll tell the kids something ridiculous ("whoever has the stinkiest feet wins a prize"), ask them to tell me their worst joke, or prompt a sibling to tickle the other one. The reaction is almost always genuine and almost always perfect.
You can do this at home too — spend five minutes being silly with your kids before you leave for the session. Loosened-up kids take better photos than wound-up ones every single time.
Bring snacks (but the right ones)
Hunger is the number-one reason kid behavior falls apart during sessions. Bring snacks. But there's a caveat: think about what those snacks will do to faces and hands. A granola bar or a bag of goldfish won't leave stains. A chocolate chip muffin will end your session early.
My approved snack list for photo sessions: goldfish crackers, plain pretzels, raisins, puffs for babies and toddlers, and fruit that isn't berries (grapes, sliced apples, clementines).
Keep snacks in the bag and only bring them out during natural breaks — not while I'm actively shooting.
Let the chaos happen — seriously
Here's something most parents don't expect: the chaotic moments often make the best photos. The toddler who ran away and then laughed when dad caught him. The older sibling making a face at the baby that made her giggle. The three-year-old who decided to lay down in the grass for no reason.
When you try to control everything, you create tension — and tension reads in photos. When you let things unfold naturally and trust your photographer to catch the moments, you end up with images that feel real and alive and full of your family's actual personality.
My job is to be ready when those moments happen. Your job is to enjoy your family and not stress too much about whether everyone's looking at the camera at the same time.
The honest truth: I've never had a family leave a session without at least one image where everyone's looking and looking great. The moments in between those shots are often the ones families end up loving most.
Skip the big pep talk — and manage your own anxiety first
I've seen it happen: a parent sits their toddler down before the session and delivers a five-minute speech about how important it is to behave and smile and cooperate. The toddler's eyes glaze over. The toddler retains nothing. The session starts with everyone already tense.
Kids pick up on parental anxiety like radar. If you're stressed about the session, they feel it and respond to it — usually by behaving worse, not better.
The most effective prep you can do is work on your own mindset. Remind yourself that kids being kids doesn't ruin photos. Remind yourself that a few hundred dollars and an hour of your afternoon is absolutely worth it. And remind yourself that I've done this before and I know how to work with kids.
For the kids: a simple, low-key "we're going to go take some pictures with Leyna today, it'll be quick and then we can go get ice cream" is all they need. The bribe at the end is optional but effective.
One final thought: imperfect photos are usually the best ones
I've photographed families where not a single child cooperated for a single second. And the parents still cried when they got their gallery back — because the images were full of real emotion, real chaos, real love.
The goal of a family photo session isn't perfection. It's capturing your family as you actually are, right now, in this season of life. Messy and loud and laughing and chaotic and completely, perfectly yours.
That's what I'm there to do. You just have to show up.