Family portraits give your Christmas cards a personal touch and can be the ideal Christmas gift for family members.  Grandparents especially are always thrilled to show off photos of their grandchildren!

Professional portraits give you the opportunity to flaunt something more attractive than a school photo or big box snapshot, which can frequently resemble baby-mugshots.  Now that we are at the time of year when family portraits are front of mind, here are five fabulous tips and tricks to ensure that you get the best possible portraits for the time and money you are about to invest.

Know what you want

With significant new advances in photo editing software, you can achieve whatever look you want.  From classic black and white to adding fairy wings and fantasy backgrounds, the possibilities are endless!  Make sure that you meet with your photographer ahead of time and bring samples of photos that you like.  Find a photographer with whom you feel comfortable and make sure her style matches your imagination.

Know what you will get

One of the ways that portrait studios make money is through professional printing.  While the quality of photographs printed through a studio is superior to a retail one-hour photo, you can still get great quality printing done at a reasonable rate.  Ask if you will have the option to purchase a disc with high resolution, unmarked images.  This will enable you to stick to a budget and maintain control over your own printing.  And besides, does anyone need 50 wallet size prints?

Relax and let the photographer do what they do

Getting you, your children and your spouse dressed and out the door is only half the battle.  Once you arrive at the studio the hard part of your job is over and it’s time to let the photographer take over.  Let her build a rapport with your kids, telling jokes and having fun!  Getting genuine smiles with ‘happy eyes’ takes a little while, but is worth the patience.  Relax and let her work with your kids, setting the scene for a perfect picture!  Many parents will tell their kids to ‘smarten up! sit up straight! smile!’ before they’ve even gotten comfortable with the photographer and the studio.  Part of the benefit of having a professional photographer take your portrait is knowing that they have the ability to envision the final product and know how to get you there.  Let the atmosphere stay light, the photographer stay in control and you will end up with naturally beautiful portraits!

Bribery…a photographer’s way of life

Sometimes kids need some time to warm up to the photographer and the new environment.  Sometimes they need some extra encouragement.  This can come in the form of mini-chocolates or a new surprise toy that you have on-hand, which will help to get your little one’s attention and focus back on track.  Teenagers can be an especially tricky group to work with.  Promising a photo of your teen, on their own, that they can use for their Facebook profile can be an effective negotiation tactic.

Infant Photography

Experience in this category is paramount!  Ask to see examples of the photographer’s work with infants.  Do your part to make the photo session a success.  You know your baby’s schedule better than anyone else, so be mindful when booking your session of baby’s nap and feeding schedule.  Don’t try to rush in after work, when you are stressed and your baby just wants to snuggle with mommy.  Book at an appropriate time and reap the rewards!.

Lisa is six-years-old and her panicked voice could break your heart.  During a 9-1-1 call, she begs for help for her family as, in the background, her stepfather assaults her mother and infant brother.  This recording of an actual emergency services call is an emotionally-charged training tool used during CAS’ Domestic Violence training sessions.

Intervening with a struggling family and stepping into the world of domestic violence is a difficult task and professionals must be prepared for the challenges they will face.  Silence and stigma are two of the issues at the core of the fight against domestic violence and empowering our Child Protection Workers (CPWs) to break through these barriers in order to help the victims of domestic violence takes rigorous and targeted training.

In response to this need, our team at the CAS has developed a two-part training session, designed to equip CPWs to work more effectively wth families in crisis.  The sessions, ‘Creative safety-planning for women and men’ and ‘Working with the abusive partner’, are designed to enable CPWs to empower cents to take control and make changes within their own lives.

After an exceptionally successful first year of training with our own staff, sessions were opened to other agencies with phenomenal response.  The sessions were booked to capacity, with a wait-list for those who were unable to secure space.  While the domestic violence program is new, educating others within the community is familiar territory for our Intake Team.  For over four years, members of our staff have been involved with the Domestic Violence Officer’s training offered by the Hamilton Police Services.

This specialized program provides police officers the opportunity to become more familiar with the issues that plague families who are stuffing with domestic violence and learn how to investigate and intervene in a way that is more effective.  A variety of tools are used to help officers learn about social and investigative issues, as well as the CAS’ role in the cycle of domestic violence.  One of the key training components is the ‘Lisa Phone Call’, which we can report had a happy ending.

Lisa is now in her twenties and is the mother of two beautiful children.  Her phone call has been the catalyst for the formation of social advocacy groups and will continue to educate the CAS, police services and other anti-violence groups working to make Hamilton a safer place for families to live.

He has travelled across Europe, Asia, North America and even hiked the Himalayas, but 17-year-old Nihal Jhajj’s next adventure is sure to be his best one yet.

Nihal, a 12th grade student at Sir Oliver Mowatt C.I., along with Kevin Adamson, a 10th grade student at Sir Wilfred Laurier C.I., won the Toronto District School Board’s first “My Planet and I are One” contest and were awarded $5,000 each towards a two week trip to Antarctica.

“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime…to be away from family, from home, from the world as we know it,” said Nihal’s mom of her son’s trip to Antarctica.  Nihal and Kevin will be travelling with the Canadian organization Students on Ice.  The scientists of Students on Ice guide teens from around the world as they experience the wonders of the untamed continent of Antarctica.

Wendy Blain, one of Sir Wilfred Laurier C.I.’s vice principals, was a chaperone for last year’s Antarctic excursion.  Her expedition changed her life by allowing her to experience wonders that most of us will only dream about.  She urges the boys to learn all they can from the world renowned experts that will be on hand to help explain and interpret the wild and foreign surroundings.

“Sit beside the scientists, even at dinner.  They are so wanting to share.  Do everything.  If they say, ‘We’re going to go for a walk up there’, do it!  You never know if you’ll get to go again,” is Wendy’s advice.  And with a price tag of almost $11,000 per student, her insight is valuable.

The boys have fundraised to earn the remaining $6,000 for the trip and Nihal’s parents contributed a large portion of his necessary funds.  But the boys have made an even deeper commitment than the initial contest, the fundraising and the time spent in Antarctica.

In January, when they return from their journey, they will have the opportunity to share their experiences with students from other schools.  “This is an important step in the learning process,” shares Alison Paul, Sir Wilfred Laurier C.I.’s other vice principal, who has had the opportunity to travel to Antarctica twice.

She points out that interested students from the four local high schools were invited to submit a drawing, poem, song, video, or any other original creation they produce on the theme “My Planet and I are One”.

“There are three areas of learning.  Every kid that entered the contest stopped and thought and learned.  And these two guys are going to get the opportunity to go and learn first hand in Antarctica, but then every kid they talk to from her on is going to learn also.  It is such a fabulous learning opportunity from beginning to end and past the end.

How better could you spend to money?” asks Blain.  How better indeed.