Have you ever wondered or even worried how your family will respond to doing a photo session? Let me share a little secret with you - family photographers (at least the good ones) make them interactive and fun as well as functional. They create small, simple and fun activities to keep children (and adults) of all ages engaged. A family photo session should never be JUST about getting into perfectly posed positions and smiling nicely for the camera.

Now don’t get me wrong - there is absolutely a place for posed photographs - I mean we all want some of those beautiful, everyone looking at the camera and smiling picture, but in-between those poses there should be lots of fun and laughter. Kids should be running around (maybe getting wet or <GASP> dirty and parents should be playing. When done right, there may even be a few minutes where you completely forget that there is someone snapping photos. Why? Because when you are having fun, and playing - that is when you will naturally show your true emotions and expressions. Those canned smiles we do on command - those don’t show the “real” you. The looks that capture your true personality and show the love you have for the people you care about - that is what makes a fantastic photo AND a memorable experience.

The greatest compliment a client can give me at the end of a session is, “That was actually a lot of fun!” Here is the results of a family session with a nice mix of posed and candids.