I often start a session off with family shots. This helps to get the children more comfortable with me. When taking the image, I have the family members get in close. Then I tell them to get even closer. I always take one candid image of the family looking at each other and then one with them looking at me.
These types of photos are typically a favorite for my clients. The little one here was upset and her mother was trying to sooth her. I kept shooting and this is what I ended up capturing. These raw moments are the ones that many times end up getting framed and put up on walls.
During a family session I always try to capture mom with children and dad with children. In the above image I asked dad to hold his daughter close then give her a kiss. This was what I captured immediately following the kiss. I typically like to take these sort of captures off center for a more creative composition.
To get the attention of little ones I will often use a rattle or some other noisy toy, or if possible (and preferred) have the parent(s) stand behind me.
I always try to do this pose with dad and baby during a newborn session… especially if baby has a lot of hair. One of the reasons I love this pose is because of how small baby looks in dads hands. Even though this is a pose I set dad and baby up in it looks candid because of the way he is gentle rubbing her hair. It’s not perfectly posed and that’s what I love about it. Also the couples dog jumped in a few of the shots and I just went with it. The ones with their dog in the images ended up being my favorites.
I always try to get a few shots with mom holding baby during a newborn session. This capture was taken in the master bedroom. The couple had a huge set of windows on one side. I posed them near the window. I then had mom bring the baby close to her face and I asked her to look at her little one. In regards to clothing, for these types of images I prefer mom not to wear anything too heavy like a thick sweater. It’s more intimate if mom and baby are wearing something light.
This is another pose I love to do with families. For this capture I asked the family to hold hands and walk towards me. This little guy had just learned how to walk so he happiest when moving. Sometimes if I can’t get the child to smile during this pose I will ask the parents to swing their child. I always get smiles when parents do this. The important thing to remember when parents do swing their child is to have a fast shutter speed. I have mine set no slower than 1/500.
For this image mom and son were playing. While I was shooting them playing I promptly asked them at one point to look my way. I love to start off a pose like this because when I direct my subjects to look at the camera I often get genuine smiles.
This is another favorite pose I like to do with little ones. One of the reasons I love doing this shot is because I often get great light in the child’s eyes when they look up. For this image I was holding a little rattle and that was how I was able to get her attention from above.
