How to convince your husband to have professional family photos done... when it's his *actual worst nightmare*
I want to start off by sharing my appreciation for all the wonderful dads (including everyone that is pictured here in this post!!) that I have had the pleasure of photographing over the past few years. Whether you’re happy and excited to be doing a family photo session with me or not, I see the effort you go to to make this experience go as smoothly as possible, and want to thank you!!
I have put together this post, not because i’m wanting to generalise ALL DADS, but because 95% of the enquiries I recieve for family and newborn photography sessions, are from mums and one of the most common things I hear after I send out session information is something along the lines of “that sounds great, I just need to convince my husband” or “any tips for getting my husband onboard?”.
Recently, I also asked my instagram audience what the main thing that holds you back from booking a family/newborn photography session - the most common response?
Husband refusal
So, I wanted to address that and share a few tips for you to help you get your hubby onboard if he’s feeling a little reluctant / camera shy.
TIP ONE
Firstly, explain to him WHY this is so important to you.
Speak from your heart.
As a mum, I’m guessing you are probably the one who spends most of her time BEHIND the camera, capturing all your family memories – but not actually existing in them, right?
Possibly, this isn’t such an issue for your husband because he has YOU there taking a gazillion iphone photos of him being cute and fun with your babies/kids on a regular basis ? OR, perhaps he does do his best to take photos with you in them but you’re never really super happy with the result (points for trying though!!!)
Explain to your husband why it is so important and meaningful for you to have beautiful photos of yourself - that you will love - with your kids while they are still little. Remind him how quickly time flies and how “baby brain” means you often forget so much that you wish you could remember and hold on to forever. You spend soooo much time with your kids, thinking of your kids, trying to make sure everyone is happy and things are running smoothly… putting everyone elses needs ahead of your own…
You deserve to exist in your families memories mumma, don’t let anyone convince you otherwise!
TIP TWO
Ok, so you’ve made a heartfelt and compelling argument, your husband get’s that this is pretty important to you, but he comes back to you with the whole “I hate having my photo taken, it’s going to be forced, awkward and a miserable experience” argument.
I get it, many of us from this generation are traumatised from the shopping centre studio portrait experience our mums forced us to as kids. The memory of having to sit still and hold your smile in position for 10 minutes while a crowd of onlookers watched on. Later in life, maybe we had SUPER posed wedding photos that he doesn’t want a repeat of…
All you need to do here is reassure him that it doesn’t have to be that way!!!
Let him know that you have found a photographer that is SUPER relaxed and easy-going (hi 👋) who doesn’t do the traditional staged or forced photos and who is going to make the whole experience one that is as fun and enjoyable as possible!
If you have a newborn, it will be more about you cuddling and loving on your baby. If you’ve got young kids, it will be about playing with them, throwing them up in the air, tickling them and having fun together. It will be about whatever makes your family UNIQUE.
Repeat after me, nothing staged, nothing forced.
TIP THREE
Ok mumma, WELL DONE!! You have convinced him that the experience might not be all bad, BUT, he has saved his most persuasive and tricky argument for last….
MONEY
“it’s too expensive”
I’m not going to pretend that this isn’t a very valid factor for many families.
Please know that I offer very flexible payment plans for any family that needs a little bit of extra time to save for their session.
But if the argument is more about whether or not the cost is actually worth it at all, perhaps reframing it this way -
If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you would grab?
OK, look -maybe he’ll say something JUST to annoy you, like “my golf clubs” or “important documents” (…ok ok, maybe that second one is kinda important!)
But, the reality is, most of the things we spend our money on are insurable, back-up-able and replaceable… your families memories? Time?? Those are things you can NEVER get back. So while it may seem like it’s “too expensive”, I promise you, one day these family photos will be your most cherished possessions -
even the most reluctant of husbands will be grateful to have them.
Oh and the added bonus ?
Let’s not forget that family photos are the gift that keeps on giving – you can turn those digital files into gifts for all of the special people in your life for the next year.
Photobooks / framed prints / wall art / calendars… So many gift possibilities and then you have all of your birthdays, mothers days, fathers days, christmases SORTED for at LEAST 12 months.
So if all else fails, let him know that this basically gets him off the hook for any gift shopping for the foreseeable future!!
I would love to hear from you if this has been helpful or if you have any of your own tips for convincing reluctant husbands to agree to having professional family photos done!!
If you are located in Geelong (or surrounds- Torquay, the Surf Coast & Bellarine Peninsula) and would like to chat more about booking in your own family or newborn photography session (you know, now that your husband is 100% onboard and SUPER excited for our session 😉) Please get in touch.
