Confession: family portraits with little children used to frighten me! I didn’t gain the experience I have today as a family portrait photographer until I had my own family. My two busy boys have taught me a thing or two about setting reasonable expectations, keeping them engaged, and making photoshoots fun! Thank you boys! I’ll use a recent photo from our beach vacation as an illustration:

I picked out their outfits on a rare solo shopping trip months in advance. When we were getting them dressed, we had to bribe them to wear said clothing. We walked to the beach (this was our third day at the beach) and while I envisioned them sitting neatly together in the sand with the ocean behind them, they had other ideas. First, they HAD to frolic in the ocean and dig in the sand, so I photographed that instead. I had almost given up on my goal for that trip to the beach thinking we could just come back another day. But on the way home, I asked them to stop by this sand dune and with some silly charades from their daddy, this sweet photo is the result.

After having shared all of that, my goals for my own family are not the same for my client’s sessions. I spend time getting to know my clients’ desires and priorities for the photo shoot and am much more focused on making that happen within the time allowed. I just thought I’d share some background before getting into what I feel is most important when photographing sessions with little ones. Here’s a recent photo shoot with a family in Cranberry to give you a feel for what to expect.

Ok, tip #1: Keep moving. There’s nothing worse than to plop a kid down and expect them to stay in one place for more than a few minutes. I like to pick locations that are conducive to walking and offer variety in scenery.

Tip #2: Less is more when it comes to props. Other than a chair, a book, or bubbles, too much attention is given to managing props. We didn’t need anything for this mommy and me portrait, just mom and her daughter so that the focus is on their special relationship.

The same goes for this baby girl and her daddy.

Tip #3: Have fun. To keep this little sweetie interested, we told her we were going on a nature walk. So when she found this walking stick, we went with it. When I engage with kids and they have an idea to offer, I want them to experience the pleasure of this process!

If you’d like to talk more about scheduling a family photo shoot, please let me know. I’d love to hear from you!