Ok I will not bore you with ALL the family photos. But you guys they are SO GOOD that I will be printing and framing so many it's silly. Ha!!! But so so so good. We'll be relaunching the blog (yay!!!) in two weeks, so when Just Kidz Studio reached out to partner I knew it was an instant yes.
But I was blown away by this team, they are SO great with kids. So great. But more than that they took my direction of having family photos that represent us to the max. We went our regular weekend routine (with more coordinated outfits) and they simply caught us doing our thang in these photos!! We went from the farmers market next to our building to our favorite bagel shop and then on to the park with the sweetest little garden (where we spotted the most beautiful butterflies!!)
You two are the founders, right?
Yes! We founded Just Kidz Studio in April 2018.
Why did you start this company?
We love photography and we love children. What better way to combine the two than to start a photography studio dedicated to preserving what it means to be a kid? The idea came to us in early 2017 while going through old family photographs. They reveal personality while capturing the everydayness of life and that's what we want to bring to families today.
Tell me a bit about your background?
Trenton is from Hartford, CT and I am from Madrid, Spain. We met during our freshman year at Trinity College when we had to work on a group project for our science requirement class "The brain". We developed a friendship pretty quickly and we both connected through our love of photography. Surprisingly, we didn't start dating until our junior year. Now we are engaged and soon to be married! (ahhh how amazing!!)
What is your philosophy on photographing kids?
We love to capture kids being themselves! We will get you the Christmas card photo that you can send to Grandma, but we mostly focus on capturing the essence of what it means to be a kid, a mom, a dad, a family. We found that when you look at old family photographs, the moments that evoke the most meaningful emotions are not staged. They capture the character and spirit of the person and the moment.
And now for 5 tips from me on getting family photos you absolutely love!
1. Props and Bribes -
For us it was the flowers at the market, bagels for walking and space for them to run around in by going to the park. But I also told them they'd get gummies at the end if they listened! A favorite toy, blanket or even a ball works too!!
2. Coordinating outfits
We centered the photos around Zoe's skirt, and actually my current favorite color scheme, navy and mauve. I just find the colors to look great on the girls and well it doesn't have to all be exact matching outfits or all the same colors but you want them to look good together!
3. Picking the right Photographer.
This is key! Have a wild bunch? Large family? Just adults? Want to include grandparents? Looking for more studio photos? Want Lifestyle photos (like ours). Well make sure that you look at your photographers work and see if they have the experience in doing what you want!
4. Direction for your photographers.
This is HUGE. You want them to know what you are looking for. So pick up the phone or send that email with a few shots you really want to capture. I wanted lifestyle photos capturing us in our new neighborhood, a couple family photos that we could frame/use in a holiday card & I wanted one of the hubby and I. The rest I wanted to feel as natural as possible so I could use on the blog as well. So I told them that!
5. Go in with low expectations.
I swear this is the key to LIFE WITH toddlers. I told the hubby if I got a couple photos of the whole family in our new neighborhood I'd be completely happy. I mean obviously you want there to be a ton to pick from but go in with low expectations and it'll be hard to disappoint. I will say if your kids are sick or exhausted or hungry it won't work so pack snacks, reschedule if they are sick and you'll have better luck. Whats that saying," by not preparing you are preparing yourself to fail" that ISH is true!
6. is a bonus one. HAVE FUN. tickle the bellies, tell a joke (why shouldn't you give Else a balloon? because she will LET IT GOOOOOO" play tag, play freeze dance party! Have fun, smile, watch your littles enjoy themselves and honestly it puts less pressure on them and you!
I hope these are helpful!! And well the incredible folks over at Just Kidz Studio are offering up my readers a 10% off your Fall family photos package! Head on over and book them asap (these busy months get booked FAST!) use code chicbostonmamainnyc ! And please tag me when you guys meet up!
I am planning on putting together a few color combo's that I would like for Fall photos and some favorites up here this week!
xoxo
Natalie
PS stay tuned for winter accessories for littles on the blog Wednesday, because you guys it's finally Fall in NYC!