What is my Family Portrait photography style?
"My approach is to capture families in an honest, artful, and storytelling way. I enjoy documenting moments of your children being playful, interacting with their siblings, and engaging with you. It's about connection, not perfection. My family sessions are child-led. It is a method that allows the children to explore their environment at their own pace, and we follow their interests. "
My goal is for the session to feel like we are going on a nature walk with kids. Talk to everyone who is participating in the session. I want to ensure you are on the same page as your partner and other family members. I can't force someone to be in the moment, play with their children, connect with their family if they think it's going to be a quick thing, in and out, a few poses, smile at me, and then be done. It's one of the reasons why I don't offer mini-sessions. They are rushed, and kids don't have time to open up and be themselves. Sometimes, it takes us 20 minutes only to play tag and hide-and-seek or chase each other. I follow the child-led approach during my session. If they feel like collecting rocks and shells, we let them, and you do it with them, talk to them, simile, and give them all the love you have. Once they collected a few rocks, give them a kiss and a hug.
Have fun, and remember why you want to document this time. This isn't supposed to be a high-pressure situation at all. We will hang out in different spots of your location and go from there. Movement is encouraged; play with your kids, and say something silly that makes them laugh; you know them best, and don't worry about always looking into the camera. Connect with your family, let go, and be present! Lastly, if I put you guys in any pose or prompt and it's uncomfortable, you are free to make it comfortable for you.
Let the kids be present, keep the positive energy, and create space for them to be themselves, and I'll capture the magic of you playing with them and simply hanging out together. Obviously, this works most of the time, but sometimes it doesn't, and that's okay. Children, just like us adults, have bad days. We do our best to redirect the big feelings and make a session fun for them.
It's all about finding the balance between candid and posed photography. I'll help your family get into places and positions first, and then we will encourage different kinds of interactions and genuine, fun expressions. Get ready to chat with me and your family members, play, and snuggle! Dads might even end up getting a bit of a workout with piggyback or airplane rides!
The secret ingredient to these sessions is playfulness and unrehearsed organic action. It’s about freezing the moment in time through laughter and activities. When kids see themselves in family photos it builds their self-esteem and fuels their imaginations. The family photo session is an investment in your family that you'll always be grateful that you made.
What is lifestyle photography? It's a style that fits comfortably between traditional and documentary photography. In lifestyle photography, you are doing quite a bit of directing, and a bit of posing, but you are going beyond that traditional portrait format by bringing out deep emotion. Lifestyle is about creating a fantastic portrayal of reality.
Capturing connection and movement creates the candid moments that you are looking for. You and your children will hold hands, hug, and kiss. This movement creates a special rhythm and a dynamic in the photographs which shows your family connection. A family photographer is looking to give you all an activity in order to foster engagement and movement. Be ready to sing, play games, run, jump, or splash. Plan for fun and I will try to do my best to capture all these real moments.
The games we play during sessions elicit a strong reaction from the children and from Mom and Dad. If parents and kids are given an activity where they can cut loose and enjoy the day, then all the worries about how you look and how the kids are behaving will melt away. This is where the family portrait session fun begins!
A few questions to think about before your session might be... What kind of outdoor games your kids like to play? Do they have a favorites game? Please, feel free to list more than just one game. Do you have a favorite family game? Do you like to sing as a family?
I have had the luck to watch during school recess as kid’s play tag with positive emotions and happy smiles. Nothing makes an image feel more present and authentic than movement.
Rather than try to rein them in I encourage children to run around and smile naturally much to their parent’s surprise and delight. Immediately after this game, it’s time for rest. We will get settled for a posed family portrait where I will try to capture some candid moments like hugs, snuggles, and kisses.
The most pleasant compliment of all is when people tell me that the session was fun and when kids want to keep playing and enjoying quality family time! I have been asked many times if I babysit or have my own kids. The answer is that I worked as a first-grade teacher assistant for a few years and love children unconditionally! I would say that the two things I am the most passionate about in life are photography and early childhood education!
