Remember Halloween with a Family Costume Portrait

I remember years ago when Red was small, I created a Wreck it Ralph Disney family costume for the three of us. Complete with a tiny golden hammer, we attended a trunk or treat and had a lot of fun! Just a few years ago, we were all “things” from Star Wars, and after Halloween passed, I realized I didn’t even have a cell phone shot of us all to commemorate the costume effort! This year, I thought better of my plans. With a little pre-planning, I pulled out Red’s Captain Hook costume from The Pirates League, and Scarlett’s green, sparkly Tinkerbell look from Great Pretenders, and set to make a professional appointment for our family costume portrait.

Fortunately for us, we have a Portrait Studio just a mile or two from our house, meaning that with a quick jump in the car, we can have a customized portrait studio experience with options for beautiful, professional portraits, and just in case we need items for Christmas gifts, personalized items and keepsakes. I made sure we had all our costume pieces as well as a few photo props (think loose trick or treat candy, treat bags, etc) and headed out.

Our photographer greeted us early in the morning (the key to our kids being fed and happy) for our session, which lasted 20 minutes or less, and I was very impressed with her speed and skill. She had my two-year-old sitting pretty and poised while her older brother waited patiently for his turn to wield his hooked hand and pirate grimace. She also shot with speed, a skilled eye to capture candid smiles and even a few laughs!

I’m always a fan of behind-the-scenes info and how-to posts, so I snapped a few photos while the photographer worked her magic so you could see the result. She took two impatient kids gazing at loose candy on the floor (which was a total surprise to them), promising one piece each, as it was our last pose of the day. To my shock and awe, they complied with this nice new lady easily and looked up and down with interest…

And this magical little photo was the result! A perfectly color balanced, cropped miracle, that stood as a sneak peek of what’s to come after we trek around the block, knocking on doors later this month: happy kids exploring their treats. 

Of course, a fun photo session is nothing if you can’t take all those photos home with you!  My photographer sat with me to review all the photos and pare them down. To add to my list of pleasant surprises, there were very few “bloopers” or closed eyes… she was totally on it!