I have a few “rules” when it comes to family photo sessions. My business tagline is “capturing life naturally” and that is always my goal whether is a maternity, birth, family, or any other type of photo session. Here are my basic rules (feel free to take notes)
Give the kids time to warm up
Slow down. Let them smell the flowers or blow the bubbles. Being too serious and task-driven is only going to make everyone nervous and miserable. I like to take my time to chat and observe. Then I pull out my camera and start taking photos as I adjust the settings on my camera. This tends to put everyone at ease.
Dana booked a Mom & Me mini-session, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from capturing these fun moments as we got set up for our photo session.
Start with a few natural poses
Let the kids be silly. Make terrible jokes. Even when they don’t laugh. Even the worst of jokes is bound to get at least a sympathy laugh.
Capture Relationships
This was specifically a Mom & Me session, so of course I captured each child with mom along with all the kids and mom together. These are photos that will be treasured years from now.
Let them be silly
Obviously, Ella knows her place in the family as Youngest Child and Only Girl. She is spunky, full of energy, and clearly determined to keep up with her big brothers. So instead of trying to stomp that out, I embraced it for our photos.
Jumping photos will almost always get kids to come out of their shells.
So let them jump. Let them yell. Let them squeal. If nothing else, they will have fun.
Let them hold their chickens
If a girl wants a portrait with her chicken, well then, let her have her portrait. This is one reason I love doing photo sessions in people’s homes. Sadly, I don’t keep a supply of chickens in my camera bag.
PS- It was so fun to catch up with Dana. I took maternity photos for her and captured Lucas’s birth, so it was fun to see them all grown up and full of personality! Now here’s a trip down memory lane circa 2015.
Call Renee at 360-383-7889 or email littleearthling @ yahoo.com to book a session.