Three compelling reasons to have a winter photo session with your family

It’s that time of year again when we all go into hibernation, love to be cuddled up indoors, and indulge in hot chocolate and other yummy goodies.

But it’s also the season of skiing, snowman building, and tobogganing! Most people love the snow. Especially the kids! There is so much fun to be had in the snow.

So why not have some seasonal portraits with your family during the winter?!

Wouldn’t it be amazing to see your family having fun in the white wonder, throwing snowballs at each other, building the most beautiful snowman ever, sledging down the hill and cuddling to keep each other warm?

What fun that would be!

For me, there are so many reasons to have a family photo session in the winter. So here are my three most persuasive.

1. Everyone loves snow and you’ll have the most fun time playing around

Just think about having the most fun time with your family!

No need to prepare a game or to think about what toy to bring – you can simply have fun rolling in the snow making snow angels, creating a snowman or a whole snow family, or even having a snowball fight.

What kid wouldn’t be up for throwing snow at mum and dad during the session?

2. Winter has the best lighting conditions

3. We live in one of the most beautiful snowy countries 🇨🇭

The third and most obvious reason for having a winter wonderland photo shoot is that we live in Switzerland after all. So how can you live and love here without having ever taken snowy photos?

Also, you might be one of those lucky people to have a place in the mountains. Such a good reason to do family photos in the snow. We could start outside in the snow and then go indoors to take some beautiful pictures at the fireplace, with a hot chocolate or mulled wine in hand.

What to wear for your winter family pictures

Wear plenty of layers – onion style

I recommend thermal underwear for everyone, nice and warm jumpers, fleece layers and waterproof coats on top.

If you love skiing, wear your skiing gear, that’s perfect! If you’d love to wear a skirt, wear fleece-lined leggings on top of your thermal bottoms (I often wear two fleece-lined leggings in the winter, so much warmer than just jeans).

Pretty accessories: a hat, a nice warm scarf, and mittens are great to keep you and the kids warm.

If you want to wear leather boots because you’d like the look better, that is totally fine. Just bring your thermal boots with you, or wear them to get to your location. You can always change them a little later.

Please also make the effort of bringing a bag or a rucksack with plenty of clothes for the kids to change into. In case they get wet during our session, it’s always good to have something dry to change into on your way home, or on the way down from the mountains.

If you get too hot during the session, you can always take something off. It is, however, always best to start off warm. Because once you’re cold, even putting something on won’t necessarily warm you up.

Always remember: warm kids = happy kids.

Now, I understand that snow is not for everyone and that you may worry about your children getting cold. Winter photos are certainly not for you if you don’t like rosy cheeks, hats, mittens and scarves.

But if you love the snow, please don’t fret, a winter session with your family is usually shorter and I will also give you plenty of advice on how to dress your children. So here are a few pointers:

Winter photoshoots are shorter, so you won’t get cold

I keep winter photo sessions to a maximum of one hour. This will make sure that you are not getting too cold.

Even if you are skeptical about your kids not playing ball, you’ll be surprised. Almost every single kid loves playing in the snow! We’ll be moving, playing, cuddling, walking and before you know it, you’ll all want to take your coats off.