Why do kids do this to us?! We book a long-awaited family photo session and a couple of days beforehand they give themselves a black eye or a cut front and centre on the face! It’s the age-old question, should you reschedule your family photoshoot until your kid has healed?
As a Hertfordshire family photographer who has photographed hundreds of families, I’ve seen every scrap and scuffle imaginable so let me give you my thoughts on it…
Obviously, if you kid takes a tumble the morning of your photos and isn’t up to photos, then of course, reschedule! Nobody is going to enjoy the photo session if you’re worrying about your child and if they’re not their usual happy self.
But, if they’ve got a scab, graze, bruise or something else on their face, what should you do?
There are definitely two sides to this coin and I’m going to walk you through both of them below.
(Harvey on a Hertfordshire family photoshoot a month after a run in with the corner of a kitchen counter and trip to A&E – ouch!)
Family photos are for family memories
Is your little one accident prone in general?
If so, let’s be honest, rescheduling may not make much difference 😉 You could reschedule for a few weeks hence and end up with a different bump!
And if they are always covered in scrapes and bumps, could this actually be part of your children’s childhood that you might want to remember?
Once they’ve grown out of the endless bumps and trips, could it be that you want to look back and remember how they were always covered in bruises?
These are my son’s legs for what it’s worth… and no, he can never tell me how he’s done a single one of them!
Family photos represent reality… or altered reality!
I always tell my families that the magic is in the in-between moments and I *strongly* believe this. Photos that show how you interact are everything. Which is why whatever you want to wear is perfect for your family photoshoot (and you won’t receive exhaustive guides), because, for me, they are secondary to the most important things about your family. Similarly, your home is just the patchwork of your world so your home is perfect for family photos.
If your kiddo has a cut or a graze then that also, is just what it is at this moment in time.
That being said if you’ve dreamt about having these perfect photos taken for so long and you’re doing an internal sigh about this blemish, well then, a lot of things can be removed.
Take a look at this photos below to see some of the cuts I’ve removed for parents who preferred that their kids’ battle scars weren’t in their lasting photos.
There are some photos that are more difficult to fix and if you want complex fixes of black eyes or big cuts that fall behind fringes etc I will be able to outsource the editing of this to a specialist for you at a small additional charge. The smaller fixes above I can do as standard when I’m editing your photos.
Your family photos, your way
The bottom line of it is, if your kid is up to being photographed then don’t postpone. We’ll have a great time and create those beautiful family photos you hope for.
If you know you want the blemish taken out, just let me know. On the flip side, if you’re treating it as part of your kid’s childhood then let me know that too!
If you’re not sure what you want to do about the little cuts or grazes you can decide when you see your final gallery of photos.
They’re your photos and I’m so happy to accommodate what you want.
If you want to know that you’re in safe hands with an experienced family photographer that will put everyone at ease and hand hold you through the whole experience then I’m definitely the right person for you! We’ll have so much fun together creating amazing photos that you’ll be proud to hang on your walls.
If that sounds good, check out some photos I’ve taken for other families. If you can imagine your own family enjoying an awesome, natural, happy photoshoot then get in touch and let’s start chatting about photos for your family!
