I usually start a session with a pose I call the Family Snuggle. Here I asked Dad to hold up his son so that his face would be at the same plane as he and Mom. That way they would all be in focus. I asked for the family to get in close and snuggle.
At times during the Family Snuggle I like to have Mom or Dad tell little ones jokes or sing songs with them so that I can photograph their interactions. At the end of the joke or song I will prompt them to “Look my way!” Usually they are still full of smiles and ready for the camera.
I call this pose the All About The Kids. I like to have the kid(s) stand in front of Mom and Dad, holding their hands. I love to let kids show their personalities. I always ask for their best funny face. I get down to their level and make funny faces right back at them. In between the silly faces authentic smiles can shine through.
For the two images above I asked Mom to sing with her son as they dance and interact with each other. Sometimes I play music from my phone and let the kids show off their dancing skills.
I call this pose the Mommy and Me. I love to capture moments between Mom and her kids. This is one of my must have shots during a family session. I have Mom hold and hug their little one, sing or tell a story and give kisses or tickle them.
I call this pose the Seated Family Snuggle. I always have Dad sit first, then Mom leaning back towards him and finally I seat the kid(s) in between them. In this specific photo I asked Big Brother to give his Little Brother a hug. This is one of my favorites from their session.
For individual portraits I try to keep the energy going. Some kids will sit pretty and smile away. Some need encouragement or good old fashioned reverse psychology. You can see in the image on the left he was not too thrilled to sit there and smile. So I had him get up and let me chase him around the yard for a few minutes. Once I had him laughing I told him to NOT sit on that box. He not only went running over to sit down he thought it was hilarious. The image on the right was our result.
Most of the time, all family members have individual shots taken at some point during the session. For a maternity session individual photos of Mom are a must. I usually ask mom to stand facing me at an angle while holding her belly.
Photos of Mom and Dad usually come towards the end of a family session when the kid(s) is/are over having pictures taken. I ask them to hold hands and get in close, hug and kiss.
Melissa Rosic is a self taught, on-location, natural light family and children’s photographer based out of Fairmont, West Virginia. She began her photography journey as a mom who wanted to document her sons life in a creative and artistic way. Her style includes simple and classic portraits mixed together with laid back lifestyle images that capture family connections and children’s natural personalities. More details about Melissa can be found on her website, on Facebook, and Instagram.
Find Melissa Rosic Photography on the Web: WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
