Families who hire their own photographer for a Santa Claus appearance in Denver get the best pictures when the photographer and Santa know the plan before the evening starts.
Book both for the same evening
Book the photographer and Santa for the same evening. Give the photographer the time Santa arrives so they can come early, set up their lights, and check the room. A photographer who walks in after Santa is already sitting will spend the first minutes catching up instead of taking pictures. Extra setup time protects the first child’s portrait of the evening.
Send a shot list
Write a shot list ahead of time: each child with Santa, the children together, the whole family, and any grandparents who are there. Send it to the photographer, and mention it when you book Santa. That list keeps the evening from turning into a scramble of last-minute ideas. If a grandparent may leave early, put that portrait near the start of the list for the evening.
The spot and the poses
The photographer chooses where Santa sits, near the tree with room for the family around him. Santa takes the photographer’s direction on poses. One parent looks after the children so the photographer can keep shooting, and the children come up in the order on the list. The other parent can stay out of the way unless they are in a picture with Santa.
A real bearded Santa suits close-up portraits, because his beard and hair are his own. A traditional Santa, in the traditional suit with a full styled beard, is the lower-cost choice. Say which look you want so the portraits match what you asked for. The photographer can light either look; the choice is about the face next to the children in the portraits.
After the visit
Ask the photographer when the pictures will be ready. That one question saves a week of wondering. Santa photos is the visit type when pictures are the point of the hour. This evening is that visit with your own photographer in the room. Keep the shot list on the refrigerator so both grown-ups can see it before the photographer arrives.
The family dog can be on the shot list too. Getting the family dog into the Santa photo is a short extra set: the pet first, while it is still calm, then the people. Families call from Platt Park, the Highlands, Greenwood Village, and Arvada when they want both the portraits and the pet on the same night. Put the pet at the top of the list so it is not waiting through every human portrait in the living room.
Santa wears the full red suit for every portrait, the photographer brings the lights, and the family brings the children in the order on the list. The evening holds together when those three parts are planned before anyone rings the bell. A missing shot list is the fastest way to lose the grandparents’ portrait. A missing arrival time is the fastest way to lose the first child’s portrait. Write both times on one note so nobody is guessing in the front hall before the first portrait.
Tell us that a photographer is coming, and the time they arrive. You can contact us with that note if you are sending details in writing. The photographer’s arrival time and Santa’s arrival time should both be on the note. A late photographer is easier to plan for when that time is already written down next to Santa’s time.