Christmas is my favorite holiday! It’s such an exciting time. I love the movies, the downtime, the cheer, and all the festivities. This past year, we decided to do a Christmas photoshoot for the kids. My husband and I decided to just let the kids do the shoot. With the pandemic, virtual school, and adjusting to life with a newborn, my husband and I didn’t feel like shopping for ourselves LOL. I also really didn’t feel like sitting for hair, makeup, and nails. While I love those things — it definitely would’ve felt like a chore trying to squeeze them in before the shoot.
We had our photoshoot with Lab House Studios, who I’ve used for our maternity shoot and other brand photoshoots. I would highly recommend them! They don’t just take pictures but put in a lot of storytelling behind it.
The theme was Christmas of course, but we decided to go with two different looks – dressy and pajamas. And the pictures really showed the versatility of the holiday! In the morning, you may get all dressed up to go to church and/or to visit distant relatives (pre-pandemic), but at the end of the day, Christmas is all about snuggling up close with your family. Duality is key, hence my decision to go with the different looks.
Props are essential to a good shoot and the Lab House Studio really brought their A-game! The dressy shoot looked like a White Christmas. The floor was draped with a white rug to give the appearance of snow, while two red deers and a small tree with a light, white dusting was perched on top. Next to the tree was a sign of the North Pole with the different directions pointing to fun winter treats like hot cocoa and the ice skating rink. And of course, we had to have a table with milk and cookies placed on set – it just wouldn’t be a true Christmas shoot without it!
I kept the kids' outfits pretty simple for the dressy portion. My son wore a white dress shirt, my daughter wore a sparkly red dress, and the baby matched them both with a white shirt and red skirt. Just to make it a little more fun though, my daughter decided to wear reindeer antlers and we put a Santa hat on the little one. Everyone got their time to shine!
We took pictures of every combination possible. One with my son and each of my daughters, one with just my girls, and a few with them all together. You know children don’t really like to pose for the camera, but I think because this shoot was so fun my kids were able to just really lean into it. They’re genuinely smiling in their pics! The baby was the only one who wasn’t smiling, but that’s just because she was sound asleep lol. The best part about that was how easy it was to get her to pose for the camera!
For the pajama pics, I just had the kids on the couch. We wanted to keep things cute and comfy! A few festive pillows, the North Pole sign, and an outfit change were enough to capture the essence of a lazy Christmas. The baby wore a red onesie and donned a Santa hat, but Santa needed some helpers so my older kids dressed up in their elf pajamas.
The final shoot was very relaxed. Because of the location, we were able to get some really good pics of the baby! My advice when doing a photoshoot with a newborn is to try to get pictures of them in their element. What I mean by that is, you don’t have to make your baby super fancy to get a great pic. Put them in an outfit that doesn't break the bank. Although babies look cute dressed up, it’s not always necessary – especially if there’s a chance of them ruining the outfit with an accident. Try to get them while they’re sleeping for easy compromise!
I know the holiday season is over, but I couldn’t help but share my joy! Photoshoots are fun, but kid shoots are simply delightful. All I had to do was sit on the sidelines and watch them have fun. And let me tell you – my daughter was a showstopper! She posed like it was for the cover of a magazine and I just loved seeing her personality come across in the pics.
Did you take any family photos for Christmas? I want to know!
PS: If you’re thinking about taking your kids for a photoshoot, but aren’t sure what to expect, check out my previous blog.
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