Families often struggle with the idea of just letting things go when it comes to their photos. So many of us have had it instilled in us to pose for the camera with the perfect smile and force children to stay still. We get into the habit of expecting everyone to wear their best clothes and to not dare get them dirty during the time spent with the photographer. There’s often at least once or twice where we have this instinct to point the finger at the lens and bribe everyone into a stiff smile so we can get “at least one good photo”. Why is that? Where did we get the idea that all emotions would be dropped for our photos but we have to remain smiling? The smiles dont tend to feel so genuine at that point, do they?
I’ve strayed away from that style of photography in recent years for countless reasons but I still end up meeting clients that really can’t shake the need to pose and smile for the camera, which again, is no fault to their own. It’s what we know what to do.
All I can is, try so very hard to let go of the expectations you hold. In order to have a true documentary approach to your photos, you need to come up with an experience for your images. Whether it’s bringing sand toys and floaties to the beach, or running through a sprinkler in the backyard while hanging laundry on the line, or baking cookies in the kitchen — there needs to be some sort of activity to keep everyone interested but to also have those real life moments take shape. Without there being an experience based approach to your session, we fall down the rabbit hole of having to fill the time with poses which again can lead to unrealistic emotions if there isn’t a level of comfort in the prompts that are given.
Jessica emailed me saying she wanted her images to feel like her kids were running out the front door after dinner on a summer’s eve, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with how these images took shape. No posing, no “smile for the camera” every 5 minutes, and no fussing over keeping children perfectly clean. When you look at this gallery you can FEEL just how it would be to play on a summer’s eve in the summer. Now tell me that isn’t bringing up some nostalgic feelings!?
Something else I should mention is that this was the most images I’ve ever delivered for a family session (they are not all seen in this blog). The more activities and freedom to be yourself, the more images that can be captured.
Please enjoy :)
