Keep calm and feed on.
Keep calm and feed on. Good rule of thumb for everyone in the portrait, whether child, teen or adult. Everyone gets cranky when their blood sugar gets low. Coupled with the stress of getting a family dressed, out the door and to the place on time, who wouldn’t feel a bit “Why do I even bother?!” Here’s a couple of tips I hope help keep away the grumpies in us all.
A. Make sure everyone’s fed. Even if it’s a snack, offer it to them before you leave the house. You too, super-mom! If your sugar isn’t at rock bottom, you’ll be less likely to be there too. ‘Nuff said.
B. Pick out clothes BEFORE time to leave. Including socks and shoes. This will help get the surprises (shirts bunched up in a corner, big rip in the pants, etc.) out of the way before they become last-minute freak outs. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
C. Fudge the time. Tell your family they all need to be in the car 15-20 minutes earlier than is necessary. Make time for the last minute potty trips, where’s-mys and whatnot’s. Then again, maybe you should give them thirty minutes. Better to be early and not rushed then to be late and woman with her hair on fire and scowl on her face.
D. Have some fun! In the car, get the mood going by playing some music, singing along to horrible songs, and just having a fun time. Don’t rush. Do what you can to have the family arrive at the shoot happy, healthy and not in fear of a spanking.
If mama is happy, everyone is happy and your portraits will show those beautiful faces.
