If there is one thing that the best communion photos from previous seasons have in common, it is the smiles of the protagonists. Getting 9 year old children who don’t know you at all to smile in front of the camera in a natural way is the basis for your communion portfolio to please the families of this communion season.
Because at 9 years old, spontaneity is still part of the children’s way of being and making fun communion pictures without forced posing can be very easy if you know how to win them over and create a fun atmosphere during the photo session.
In this article we want to give you a series of tricks to make the communion photos of this 2023 much more pleasing to the families.
Learn all the tips to make really lovely communion photos in 2023.
Tips for taking the best communion photos this 2023
Taking communion photos may seem like a simple task if you are a family photographer, but the reality of this type of session is that, although the children may do their best, it doesn’t always result in those communion images that you would like to share in the gallery of your photography website.
In order to stand out from the rest of your colleagues and get your little models into your pocket, it is important that you take into account a series of recommendations when taking first communion photographs such as the ones we are going to explain below.
Plan your first communion report in detail
In this type of session, even if they are temporary, it is important not to leave anything to improvisation. If, for example, you are going to do the photo session in the studio, have everything ready before the families arrive.
Choose the scenery and props very well, look for accessories that the child who is going to do the session that day might like, have the lighting and all the equipment you will need ready and prepare a large dose of patience.
If the communion photos are going to be taken outdoors, it is also important that days before the 2023 communion campaign starts, you go and take a look at this year’s locations to make sure that everything is to your liking. Prepare some toys or accessories for the children and always bring extra material to avoid unpleasant surprises at the last minute.
Check what the weather will be like on the day of the photo shoot
Spring is one of the most beautiful months of the year for outdoor photo shoots, but sometimes sudden storms and weather changes can also play a trick on you. If you have a first communion session scheduled outdoors and rain is forecast, always have a plan B organised.
As an idea, you can talk to the families about changing the date, although this may disrupt your whole agenda of communion photos, you can also offer to take the communion photos in the studio or look for a location where the inclement weather will not affect you, for example, a sports centre.
Games are always fun for children
For the more shy kids who you find it harder for them to let go in front of the camera, you can have a series of fun little games prepared to give them confidence and help them forget about the camera.
You can use a ball, a diabolo or a simple balloon to draw their attention away from the camera. Or even, in the pre-shoot meeting with the family, you can talk about your little one’s hobbies to try to make sure they are present that day in the communion images.
Organise extra services for communions in 2023
For these sessions where the family photo is almost a must, you can offer a series of extra services that can be very useful for the families, such as: a professional make-up artist for the mums, the possibility of inviting a special guest to the session (for a fee) such as the pet or the grandparents, a double communion session with the best friend of the girl from the communion, etc.
Before the day of the report arrives, it is interesting that the parents can consult your communion dossier with all the products they are going to need for the day of the communion, such as: communion reminders, signature books, copies and enlargements, a photo booth for the day of the celebration, special packs with several reports, etc.
More tips for making original and fun communion pictures
In order to offer families a much more complete and varied service, you can plan several types of first communion photos. This way your first communion portfolio will be much more versatile and will attract many more clients.
Pre-communion images in the studio
When planning a pre-communion photo shoot in your studio, if what you want is to offer a different product from the rest of your colleagues. A good idea might be to have a short interview with the parents to “personalise” (as far as possible) their child’s photo session.
This does not mean that you have to do your photo shoots à la carte, as this would take up a lot of preparation time and the communion sessions would not be profitable for you. But what you can do is to have several scenarios planned with different tones, props, decorations and styles so that the parents can choose 1 or 2 (depending on the package contracted) on the day of the photo shoot.
Other extras you can offer, in addition to 2 different sets, can be:
Communion photos with the rest of the family (dad, mum and siblings).
A change of wardrobe of the first communion child with more informal clothes. With this small detail you will be able to increase the number of photographs that families buy from you when you show them in their private gallery.
A mini session at home. Although these communion photos can be the least colourful of all. Since you won’t find the same lighting conditions in your clients’ homes as in your studio. You can offer it as a complementary service to your main reportage.
Communion photo session with 2 friends. This type of session can become a gift for your little protagonists and, even if you take individual photos for each family, it can be a very good alternative for more shy children.
Outdoor pre-communion session
When creating your packs for this temporary session, you can also offer your clients the possibility of having a first communion session on location. Here the search for an idyllic setting will ensure 75% of the success of the shoot.
If you live on the coast, it’s very easy. You can go to a beach, the dune area or even the seafront. The sea, the good weather and a spontaneous smile will be the only ingredients you will need to take the best communion photos for 2023.
If, on the other hand, your photo studio is located in an inland area, no problem. You can always find a wooded area, a poppy field, or simply a beautiful park nearby where you can take a photographic report.
Outside, you can also create a small decoration. Find a couple of trees and hang some garlands, lanterns or tulle fabrics. You can also use a teepee, which is very popular at children’s parties.
Another alternative that families like a lot is to offer a more urban report. If the child likes skateboarding, you can go to a skate park with the scooter or go through the most central streets of your city.
Pre-communion photos that will turn into a dream come true
Another modality of outdoor first communion reportage, much more exclusive, can be the possibility of organising an a la carte session. You can “sell” it to the family as a gift for the child who is going to make his or her first communion.
Talk to the parents and help them surprise their child with a double gift. You can talk about their child’s biggest hobby or wish and help them organise a surprise photo session.
It could be going horse riding, going to the football field of their favourite team, visiting a special place or even preparing a communion photo session with a more special theme. The images from these sessions will be pure spontaneity and happiness and we assure you that they will become the best communion photos for the family.
Photo shoot on the day of First Communion
This type of session on the day of the celebration a few years ago was a classic. In fact, they were almost the only images of communion that were offered.
Nowadays, however, it is becoming more and more fashionable to take communion photos before the day of the celebration. And the truth is that many families miss having a souvenir of the day when their children are going to make their first communion.
Here, you will have several options. The photos in churches, as with weddings, tend to have a certain “exclusivity” and the most common is that there is only 1 photographer during the celebration.
If you do not have the opportunity to work in the churches, you can also offer the families a series of other small reports during the day, for example:
Pre-session at home while preparing the first communion girl.
Photo session in a place near the church at the exit of the celebration with the rest of the family.
Communion photos in the restaurant.
Etc.
Offering these other types of communion photography will open many more doors that other partners will not open. Take advantage of the opportunity and become part of one of the best communion portfolios of 2023.
How can Arcadina help you to make your communion photos more visible?
In Arcadina you already know that you will have at your disposal a series of business solutions that will allow you to have a digital business that works for you. To achieve greater visibility for your communion images, the blog, fully integrated with the rest of the web design, will be perfect to gain visibility.
You can create a series of articles that will help parents who are looking for information about a first communion session to find you. The blog, if you know how to make the most of it, can be a very powerful tool that will help you gain positions in Google in a series of very specific searches.
In the case of Extudio 83 Newborn & Kids blog, you will find a clear example of how these photographers take advantage of their articles to explain a day of session with them and show part of their portfolio of communion.
This season offers families the best communion photos of 2023
Sometimes, taking good communion photos is not going to depend on the extra training you have or letting your creativity flow. In the vast majority of cases, when you show a product where every little detail is well thought out and planned, the results are much more pleasing.
If you still haven’t finished defining your communion campaign for 2023, there’s still time. In the following article we give you all the keys to help you organise it.
This time we want to share with you the interview of Gema Romero from Ilusiones Art Photography, who has a section just to explain what a first communion session is like.
And to say goodbye for today, we would like to ask you a question: What factors do you think are most important when it comes to making the best communion images? We would love to read your ideas in the comments.
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