A Mum's Guide to the Lead-Up to Family Photos

If you've ever thought about getting professional family photos but then started thinking about everything involved in actually making it happen, this one's for you.

Because let's be honest, sometimes it's not the actual family photos that put us off. It's the thought of everything that has to happen before the family photos.

There's the outfits. What is everyone going to wear? Do the colours work together? Does someone need new shoes? Why does your child suddenly refuse to wear the outfit you bought specifically for this occasion?

Then there's the timing. Do the kids need a nap beforehand? Should they eat before you leave? What if they're tired? What if they're hungry? What if they're both tired and hungry?

Then you've got the husband to convince that this is, in fact, a lovely idea and not something he needs to endure for an hour while smiling awkwardly at a camera.

And if you've got a dog, there's another family member to coordinate.

By the time you've thought through all of that, you can completely understand why you've been putting family photos off for another year.

As a mum myself, I know how much of this stuff we tend to take on without even really thinking about it. We're often the ones remembering what everyone needs, what time we need to leave, whether someone has eaten and whether the dog has been walked.

So I want to make something very clear from the beginning.

Your family photo session doesn't need to become another project for Mum to organise.

That's a big part of how I approach family photography.

You don't need to have the whole family perfectly organised

I know the temptation is to try to get everyone to the session in the best possible mood.

You've probably imagined getting the kids up, fed, dressed and ready with plenty of time to spare, everyone having had a great night's sleep and nobody arguing in the car on the way there.

And if you can pull that off, honestly, congratulations. 😂

But real family life doesn't always work that way.

One child might have slept badly. Someone might be hungry. Your husband might have had a long day at work. Your daughter might decide she hates the dress she was perfectly happy to wear yesterday.

None of that means we can't have a great session.

After more than 15 years photographing families, I know that children aren't always going to behave exactly how we'd like them to. I don't expect them to sit still and smile on command, because that's not particularly realistic.

Instead, I give them things to do.

We'll walk, play, move around and interact with each other. I'll guide you when I need to, but I'm not expecting your children to spend the whole session staring at my camera with a giant smile on their face.

In fact, some of the photographs I love most are the ones where the kids aren't looking at the camera at all.

You don't have to make sure the kids behave

This is probably one of the biggest things I want mums to take off their mental load.

You don't need to spend the morning saying, "Be good for the photos."

Please don't spend the entire drive telling them they need to smile.

And you definitely don't need to threaten anyone with losing screen time if they don't cooperate. 😂

I want your kids to have fun.

If they're running around, we'll use that. If they're silly, we'll photograph it. If they're a little shy when they first arrive, we'll give them some time to warm up.

Kids generally relax much more when they don't feel like they're being watched and told what to do.

That's why I don't treat an outdoor family photography session like a school photo day. There isn't a line to stand in and there isn't a right way for your child to behave.

I'll guide the session and look for the moments that happen naturally.

So if you're worried that your child is "terrible at photos", I promise you, you're not the first mum to tell me that.

What about making sure everyone is fed and rested?

Of course it helps if everyone has eaten and had enough sleep, but please don't put yourself under enormous pressure trying to engineer the perfect conditions.

If your child is hungry, bring a snack.

If someone needs a little break, we'll take one.

If your toddler is having an off day, we'll work around it.

You know your kids better than anyone, so if you know they need something before we start, absolutely do that. But don't feel like you have to achieve some magical state where every person in the family is perfectly rested, perfectly fed and in a fantastic mood at exactly the same time.

That's not real life.

And I'm not expecting it.

Then there's the outfit situation

This is probably the part that mums spend the most time thinking about.

You want everyone to look nice, but you don't want everyone to look like they're wearing a uniform. You want the colours to work together, but you also want your kids to actually look like themselves.

My advice is to keep it simple.

You don't need everyone in white shirts and jeans, and you certainly don't need to dress your whole family in beige because you've seen a million neutral family photos on Instagram.

If you love colour, use colour.

If your kids live in denim, that's completely fine.

If your daughter has a favourite dress that she always wants to wear, bring it.

And yes, Crocs are allowed.

I know, controversial. 😂

But honestly, if your child lives in their Crocs and suddenly you put them in uncomfortable shoes they've never worn before, you're probably creating a much bigger problem than the shoes are worth.

I'm much more interested in photographing your family as you actually are than creating a perfectly styled version of you that doesn't feel like your family.

I do have a separate guide on what to wear for your family photoshoot in Melbourne, including colour combinations that work really well together, so if the wardrobe is the part you're stuck on, that's the place to start.

What if Dad doesn't really want to do it?

If I had a dollar for every mum who has told me her husband isn't particularly keen on having family photos taken...

I completely understand.

Not everyone loves being in front of the camera, and I'm certainly not going to make Dad stand there for an hour doing awkward poses and telling him to smile.

Outdoor family photography is a lot more relaxed than that.

He can walk with the kids, play with them, give them a cuddle, hold your hand or simply interact with everyone while I guide you through the session.

Most of the time, partners who weren't particularly excited about the idea don't need to be convinced that photography is their new favourite hobby. They just need to turn up and be part of their family.

I'll take care of the rest.

And then there's the dog

If your dog is part of the family, I completely understand wanting them included.

It does mean there's another little personality to consider, but again, it doesn't need to become a huge production.

We can work out when it's best for your dog to be involved and when they might need a little break.

Your dog doesn't have to sit perfectly and look at the camera either. If they do, fantastic. If they're more interested in sniffing absolutely everything around them, we'll work with that too.

They're part of your family, so I love capturing them alongside you.

What if the weather doesn't cooperate?

Living in Melbourne, we obviously can't guarantee what the weather is going to do.

But you don't need to spend the week obsessively checking the forecast and wondering whether your session is going to go ahead.

I'll keep an eye on the conditions too, and if the weather isn't suitable, we'll work out the best option, plus I always have the studio as a backup option.

It's another thing you can take off your list.

You also don't need to know how to pose

I think this is another reason people sometimes put off professional family photos.

They imagine they're going to arrive and suddenly have to know what to do with their hands, where to stand and how to look natural.

You don't.

That's my job.

I'll guide you through the session and give you prompts when I want a particular interaction or photograph, but I'm not going to make you spend the whole time staring at the camera.

Some photographs will be those beautiful, classic family portraits where everyone is looking at me.

Others might be you cuddling your kids, walking together, laughing or watching them play.

That variety is what makes a gallery feel like your family rather than a collection of poses.

Mum, please don't forget that you need to be in the photos too

This is probably the biggest reason I think family photography is worth making the effort for.

As mums, we're usually the ones taking the photos.

Our camera rolls are full of our kids. Birthday parties, holidays, first days of school, Christmas morning, random Tuesday afternoons when they looked particularly cute.

But we're often missing from those photographs.

And I know how easy it is to say, "I'll get some proper family photos when I've lost a bit of weight", or "I'll do it when the kids are a little older", or "I'll book it when life settles down a bit."

The problem is that life doesn't really settle down.

The kids just keep growing.

So even if you're not feeling like you've got everything together right now, please don't let that be the reason you're not in the photographs.

Your kids don't care if your hair wasn't perfect that day.

They don't care whether you were a few kilos lighter.

They're going to care that they have photographs of you together.

Family photos don't have to be another thing on your to-do list

This is really the whole point of my approach.

I know that when you're organising a family photo session, there can be a lot of little things that you're thinking about.

But you don't need to arrive with perfectly behaved children, perfectly coordinated outfits and a husband who is absolutely thrilled to be there.

You don't need to have the whole family looking immaculate.

You don't even need to love beige.

You just need to get everyone there.

Once you arrive, I'll take care of the rest.

I'll guide you through the session, keep things moving, work with your kids rather than against them and capture the little interactions that make your family yours.

Because I don't want you spending the whole session worrying about whether everyone is doing the right thing.

I want you to actually enjoy being with your family.

And if 15 minutes sounds much more achievable...

If you've been reading this thinking, "Okay, this all sounds lovely, but December is already completely mental", I hear you.

That's actually one of the reasons I've created my outdoor Christmas mini sessions on Saturday 5 December 2026.

They're designed for busy families who want updated professional family photographs without having to set aside a huge chunk of their day.

The session is just 15 minutes, so there's no expectation that your kids are going to stay engaged for an hour.

We'll keep moving, keep it relaxed and make the most of the time we have.

You'll then receive your edited digital proofs within 2 days, which is particularly handy when you're trying to get everything sorted before Christmas.

And these aren't about dressing everyone in matching Christmas outfits and standing in front of a giant Christmas backdrop.

They're outdoor family photographs with a subtle Christmas feel, so you can still have beautiful images of your family that don't scream "Christmas 2026" once December is over.

So Mum, let's make this easier

You don't need to have everything perfect before you book family photos.

You don't need to turn the morning into military operation.

Feed the kids.

Get them dressed.

Put the dog in the car.

Tell Dad we're going.

Wear something you feel comfortable in.

And then let me take care of the photography.

If the kids are silly, we'll work with it.

If someone's hair gets messy, that's okay.

If the outfits aren't perfectly matched, nobody is going to die.

And if your child turns up wearing Crocs, well, I'll probably just smile and keep photographing. 😂

Because years from now, you're not going to look at these photographs and think, "I wish we'd all worn beige."

You're going to look at them and remember your family exactly as they were at that moment in time.

And that's the bit that matters.

Click the button below and lets get the ball rolling

Stace x