Prepping for your Family Session
LETTING KIDS BE KIDS
If you want your family photos to look their best, stop trying to corral your kiddos into boxes they don't look best in.
I get it, you’ve invested good money into high-quality family photos. Not only do you want them to last for decades but you’re already envisioning them printed in your home and tearing up a little thinking about how you’ll use some of these photos in their senior albums (way too soon). But, the best photos of your kids? They capture them authentically and preserve this exact season in all of its “glory”.
As a lifestyle photographer, I’m always going to gravitate to authenticity. Not because it’s superior, but because it’s honest and a preservation of a very fleeting time in your life. Looking back at photos of my own life, all of my favorites are the ones that transport me back to that specific moment, drum up those distant emotions, and remind me of the stories those images still tell. Having an experienced lifestyle photographer means preservation for you and for your kiddos.
There’s obviously a difference between fun and playful vs. tantrums and destruction. So, how do we perfect these photos? First, we plan for the session by picking outfits that are similar to everyday wear. This isn’t the time to try new itchy textures or accessories they’ve never worn before. Second, at the session, we work together. We laugh together, we get them involved in the decision making, we pose silly and wait for the sweet moments to happen organically. We give plenty of space for your babes to find their place in the session. We don’t get tense when they walk off, stick out their tongues, don’t know how to spin around, or need a snack break. We don’t stress over toys being in images or the new goofy smile they just started using last week. We embrace their personalities, their current quirks, and we celebrate the moments of genuine interaction.
When those things go right, the patience, the fart sounds to get belly laughs, the embracing of this current stage, the sweet moments fall right in line. Full body hugs, cheek kisses, natural smiles, those all lead to genuine joy, genuine personalities, and genuine memories. Find a quality photographer, trust the process, lower your expectations of perfect poses a smidge, and remember that you also look better in your photos when you’re not stressing about your kiddos. Your family looks better when you are all relaxed and in the moment. Your memories are preserved as perfectly as this stage can be!
