Here are some tips for how to get good family photos outdoors: (Big thanks to our photographer friend Kristine Herman and makeup by Bay Area Beautiful)

Pick the right time of day. The later afternoon is best for lighting, when the sun is lower. If your baby’s schedule allows, do it as close to sunset as possible (like within the hour before).
Pick outfits that will stand out from the background so you don’t blend in with your surroundings. I always default to fun patterns, colors, and textures.
Along those lines, pick outfits for each person that compliment the other, and don’t match. Adam wore a brown shirt with orange and blue which was perfect for me to wear my yellow graphic tee and Fischer to wear blue overalls. And then for our 2nd outfits, I wore a pastel tie dye romper that had multiple colors in it, so Adam wore a light blue patterned shirt and Fischer wore a muted green romper.
Bring along a friend or family member who can help make your baby/kids/dog smile. I don’t need Fischer looking at the camera, I just want his smiley face to be seen since he really is so happy all the time! We brought along Adam’s sister and it for sure helped!
Our dog has hair like velcro, so we knew that going to a field wouldn’t work for him and he’d spend the whole time just picking things out of his feet and fur. So I picked downtown Livermore because it’s clean for him and it’s fun to get backdrops other then hills and trees. So don’t be tied to a location, go with what will work best for your family and a good photographer will make any location beautiful!
Get your makeup done. I learned after our first family photoshoot with Fischer that this is a must for me from now on!
Put your baby in colorful clothes, not neutrals. I did this for his first photoshoot and I didn’t love it. Babies are so pale, so giving them colorful clothes will help them pop in photos.
Snuggle up, look at each other, laugh, play around, have fun! The best photos are the one where you AREN’T looking at the camera!