How to prepare your child for their Personality Portrait

Congratulations on taking a step toward preserving all your favorite parts of your child’s personality! You will treasure these portraits for decades to come. Personality Portraits truly grow in value over time. These Personality Portraits will be passed on to your children’s children and their children.

Below are some answers to frequently asked question and some of my best tips for preparing your little one for their personality portrait!

01. Can I get a photo of all my kids together?

The short answer is no. These portraits is your little one’s time to shine! All by themselves! Personality Portraits in Raleigh is an opportunity for each of your children to showcase the beauty of who they are! For this reason, please book separate sessions for each of your children.

I absolutely love photographing siblings together and preserving the beauty of their connection because personally, the sibling love is one of the most special things to me. However, these short five minute sessions are best for one child at a time. If you’d like me to really capture the beautiful love your children have for each other, I’d love to talk to you more my family session offering!

Plus, you don’t want to chance this happening between your littles during your Personality Portrait session!

02. Tell them how important these are to you

This is invaluable! No matter how young your child is, even if they’re an infant and even more so if they’re a toddler, it’s important to tell them about their Personality Portrait days leading up to their session. This gets them so excited for it!! It means so much to them to know how much it means to you and how special it will be to showcase their personality. If you want some reasons to share with them, please check out my article on what personality portraits are and why you need them!

03. Bribery works wonders

Okay so I’m not a hugeee fan on bribery, but for photos, I’m all in!! Because it works! I’m not saying you need to bribe them with going to Disney World, although that would be the best bribe ever! I’m saying you could bribe them with their favorite snack or that they get to go play outside in the backyard of The Bunny Hive on the slide or in the playhouse. You can also share with your little one that they get a prize from my basket after their session! I’ll have stickers and little things in there that any child will get excited about!

I’d let your little one know about the prize they get whenever you talk about their Personality Portrait so they associate a prize after their session! I promise I will only bring out the bribery during their session only when your little one may need some extra motivation for a smile! I mean, just think about how cute that photo will be when they light up as they realize they get their prize soon!!

04. Wear a white top

White tops photograph absolutely beautifully for your Personality Portraits! They give a simplistic and timeless look that you will be sure to treasure on the walls of your home for decades. White tops and dresses also for the focus to be where you want it - your child! Plain white keeps anything from distracting your eye away from their perfectly smiles and the little twinkles in their eyes.

The most important part is that you change them into their white outfit after the car ride to your session! This keeps it from getting wrinkled as well as keeps their perfectly white outfit safe from any milk, snack spills, or spit ups.

If you want them to wear a hat or bow to really showcase their personality, I recommend a solid color that is either black or white. Black will allow it to “pop” against the white background and white will, again, give you that classic look.

Bonus if you make it a top with texture, like a sweater! Texture adds a beautiful touch to your personality portraits!

05. Bring their favorite toy

Kids are a lot more comfortable in front of my camera when they’re sitting down and holding something. Please bring along their favorite toy so they can hold something! If you think about it, it’s just another special thing to add to their personality portraits! As a side note, most of the photos on this page were photographed with a toy or snack bar in their hands, so no need to be concerned that it will be in all of their photos!

06. Snacks beforehand are a must!

We want your children with full tummies! Hangry-ness is a battle we don’t want to fight during their session! I recommend feeding them in the car and in any outfit other than what they will be photographed in then changing them into their outfit once you arrive to your session.

07. Wipe their face beforehand

Wipe the snack crumbs off their face and runny nose right before you get out of the car for your session! I haven’t yet met a child who loves their face being wiped (if that’s your child, I’m jealous!). It causes tears and their face ends up being red for a minute. It’s best to do this before you get inside because that will allow them to “reset” emotionally once you’re at the session and get excited for photos!

08. Get there 15 minutes early

Please arrive to your session early! This helps alleviate any rushing or stress and gives your little one a moment to transition to their environment when they arrive!

09. Be prepared to join in on the fun and get behind my camera!

No one can make your little one smile like you can!! When you come in, I’ll invite you to stand right behind me and may even squat down to play peek-a-boo with your child!

10. Will you offer these throughout the year?

Absolutely!! Getting Personality Portraits of your little one throughout the year is the best way to watch them grow and preserve all their perfect little personality traits!

I’d love to connect with you!

If we haven’t met yet, hi! I’m Kelly!

I am a film and digital family photographer local to Raleigh, NC. My passion is preserving motherhood’s joyous memories found in the chaos through family, newborn and maternity sessions. I am a mom to three little ones, all three and under, including identical twins. Through my own experience, I know how to capture the beauty in the chaos for other mamas! It’s no wonder I am drawn to the playfulness and unpredictability toddlers bring to every session. It’s my greatest joy to preserve authentic, joyful memories of motherhood for busy mamas through stress-free experience and heirloom-worthy artwork.