Something I’ve discovered over the last few years is that when it comes to family photos, it’s really not about the posed/put together/say cheese moments.

Moms (and dads!) want to feel their photos. They want to look at the photos and instantly be transported back to whatever phase of childhood their children were in. They want to see themselves in their photos as they are, mothering, fathering, chasing, laughing and calling after children who run away. They want to feel the fun of parenting their kids.

These are a few of of my favorite ways to make sure that my clients feel at ease and like they can incorporate the fun of their family dynamic into their photoshoot.

questionnaires for family photos

The questions you ask your clients before their session are so important! Really use that tool to your advantage to try to get to know them. Ask them if they have any family hobbies, a favorite or meaningful place that they go to often or if their children have any talents that they want to showcase. One of my favorite questions to ask parents is “what do you want to remember most about this phase of life”. You can learn so much just from that answer alone. Take those answers and incorporate them into how you capture their family but also to help give them ideas about how they can make their family session unique and creative!

create mood boards and inspiration boards

A lot of the time, creative ideas aren’t going to come from your clients. I have found that majority of the time, families feel like they can’t ask for creative sessions, or that they think their ideas might be silly or they just don’t think about doing something out of the box at all simply because they’ve never done it before! You can help them see a creative vision by putting together a pinterest board or a mood board for them that conceptualizes your ideas.
**pro tip: ask them if they have any pinterest boards made for their photos! you’d be surprised how many people do but don’t share that with their photographer!

make sure their family styling makes sense

As the photographer, it’s your job to make sure that your clients feel comfortable and confident in their styling choices but also that their styling matches their photos. For example, if you’re shooting a tea party picnic, you would ideally want the family to be styled in pastels, florals and lace. If they showed up in graphic t’s and vans, their shoot concept has just flown right out the window. Help them put together styling that makes sense for the creative shoot!

Want to know more about session flow and family photos? Check out my blog on how to slow down your session pace to to capture your clients true moments.