How to prepare for 5 minute Personality Portrait sessions

The best part of Personality Portraits is they are meant to be quick. You don’t need more than 5 minutes to capture what makes your child so special. These sessions create simple photos that focus on the little details that make kids unique. But since they are fast, you want to make sure you get the most out every minute. Here are my top tips to help you prepare your child for their Personality Portraits session.

Eat before you leave your home.

There is no one harder to work with than a hungry child. Trust me. So make sure they have breakfast, lunch, a snack - whatever makes sense before leaving your home. Ideally, about 30 minutes before. That will help make sure hunger doesn’t distract them from having some fun with their photos.

Arrive at least five minutes early - wipe their face and fix their hair.

Aim to arrive at least 5 minutes before your session time. The reason - you’ll want that time to check your kids face, give a wipe if need be, maybe fix their hair or even their shirt. Again these sessions move fast, you don’t want to waste time brushing hair and fixing clothes. Be sure to give yourself that extra time to help reduce any stress.

Don’t stress over comfort items.

If you child is insistent in bringing their favourite toy or wearing their favourite dinosaur shirt. Try not to stress and just let them. It’s not worth the fight and often the tears.

In the end, it’s a small little detail that actually makes the photos more memorable. Plus, with this style of portraits, there are ways to make sure their toy is not in every photo - even if they don’t let go of it the whole time.

Bring a post session special snack or bribe.

That’s right, I said it - bring a bribe. For me, bribes are not a bad thing. Because of the session length, bribes actually work quite well. I don’t need their attention for too long and once I get it - I usually can distract them with some movement poses. The bribe is the last line of defence to get them to pause, listen and then have a little fun.

If you’re worried about spills - get dressed on location.

Luckily, most of the photos are taken close up. Which means, you only usually see you child’s shirt (for the most part anyways).

If you’re worried about water being spilt, wrinkles from the carseat or random dirt - then I suggest putting their shirt on once you arrive (also a reason to arrive 5 minutes early 😊). A quick shirt switch, a little hair fix and they’ll be good to go!

Just remember, kids will be kids. These tips are exactly that - tips. When it’s all said and done, these portraits will capture your child’s true personality whatever that looks like in the moment. Creating some pretty amazing memories! If you want more info or would like to book for upcoming Personality Portraits, click the book now button.