The email “Your photo gallery is ready” elicits a giddiness like no other. The anticipation has built for two weeks since we walked out of Heather Lato Photography’s heirloom portrait pop-up at The Modern Munchkin Co.

A personality portrait photoshoot with two under two might qualify as an Olympic sport, and I did leave with a few beads of sweat, but the process was much smoother than I could have expected. And the final product shows no signs of stress or worry at all. Somehow, as if by magic, Heather captured the sweet gentleness of their little personalities, preserving the moment in portraits that will grace our walls for decades to come.

Keep reading for tips on tackling heirloom portraits with poise and a behind-the-scenes look at the process.

Dress the part.

A vision and proper preparation are key. In fact, this is probably the only part of the process you can control. Embrace it. 

For my daughter, Penelope, who is four months old, it was a no-brainer. She would wear the light pink smocked Petit Ami dress with roses on the collar that my grandmother rushed to buy her the same day we heard, “It’s a girl!” 

Bringing a bonnet for a few photos is recommended, but for Penelope’s age (and head stability), I opted out of this typical heirloom portrait must-have. 

At first, my heart was set on a blue gingham bubble for my son, Vincent, who is one month shy of turning 2. However, after consulting with the lovely ladies at Mini Macarons, I opted for a jon jon. While the traditional cut-off for boys in bubbles is two years old, the look of a jon jon is more timeless for heirloom portraits, especially for a big brother, they assured me.

Jon jon in hand, my next dilemma began. Long-sleeve or short-sleeve collared shirt? For a formal studio portrait indoors, a long-sleeve shirt is the answer.

While in the parking lot, I texted my sister-in-law to please fire up her embroidery machine for the finishing touches on the collar. After all, what’s a Southern heirloom portrait without a monogram or two? 

Timing is everything.

For pop-ups, sessions are typically 10 minutes each, which admittedly seemed very ambitious. We can do hard things, I reminded myself as I completed the deposit form. Whether your home runs on a schedule tighter than most naval warships (mine does) or you’re more go-with-the-flow, timing photos with two little ones around snacks, bottles and naps is a must. 

Only you will know the best timing for your family. Some babies are most giggly after a bottle, while others are sure to ruin their outfit and yours with such timing. For us, the sweet spot was 10 a.m., which provided enough wiggle room after snack time, before a bottle, and well ahead of universal nap time. 

Have no fear.

I’ve been told babies sense your stress, as if thinking about how my stress is making them stressed will help me stop vibrating at a frequency only dogs can hear. But, like all good cliches, it is, unfortunately, true.

Babies and toddlers are biologically wired to synchronize with our emotional states. They read our body language and context clues we may not even be conscious of, and quickly pick up on tension and pressure to perform. 

The playground is nothing compared to the pressurized performance of parenting in a photography studio, but it’s of the utmost importance to stay calm and grounded. 

Like timing, the best way to de-stress depends entirely on the person. For me, that meant getting myself ready and the car loaded hours in advance, and selecting the half caffeinato pod for my second Nespresso of the morning.

We listened to jazz on the ride while Vincent flipped through his picture book. “Mrs. Heather is going to take a picture of you and your sister with her big camera so we can put it in that book,” I tell Vincent excitedly as he tosses his socks, shoes and the photo book into the backseat abyss. “You just have to be your lovely little self,” I assured him. And myself. Smell the flowers. Blow out the candles.

Trust the professionals and the process.

We arrived three minutes before our slot was scheduled to begin, and Vincent went straight for the small-animal hoppers. Ideally, arriving 10 or 15 minutes before your scheduled time will give the kids time to warm up. But this is real life. 

Fortunately, Vincent willingly bounded into the pop-up studio space on the purple hippo. Then, I closed the door. His eyes darted from me to the door, then to the backdrop setup and onto the floor he slid. He silently lay there, sprawled out like a starfish in his finest clothes. And I let him. No pressure. No picking up and placing.

Heather offered him a peek at her camera, but no dice. “Let’s start with the little one,” she suggested, eyeing Penelope happily cooing from her Doona. As we ooh-ed and ahh-ed at Penelope balancing on her belly while atop a pouf ottoman, Vincent couldn’t resist. Before he (or I) knew it, he was sitting on the bench, pointing to Penelope’s belly and nose, grinning and enjoying his time to shine. 

There were no instructions or poses, just fun games and lots of doting on them. 

Heather offered me a peek at her camera, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the small screen as she explained that my hand keeping Penelope on Vincent’s lap would magically disappear when—BOOM. I look up to Vincent lying flat on the floor, having learned just how featherlight those photo backdrops really are. A hug and reassurance that everyone falls down sometimes helped him quickly recover, and Heather was back to snapping away. 

“How long have you been doing this?” I ask as I strap Penelope back into her car seat. “Oh, at least a decade,” Heather tells me. “And I have kids,” she smiles. 

Without rushing, prompting or posing, she captured the silly and sweet smiles I see when we dance around in the kitchen together, but in a bright and unfamiliar studio space, all without a clue that we went more than 10 minutes over our allotted time, which I only realized when we got back to the car.

To see more heirloom portraits by Heather Lato Photography, follow @heatherlato_photography.