Families aren’t perfect. And that means that “perfect” family portraits are hard to come by. Instead, we make “beautiful family portraits,” “wonderful family photos,” “authentic family photos.” The imperfection of families is one of the reasons why I love family portrait photography and what makes it so exciting.
Trust me that you’re going to get beautiful photos. I can ensure that the lighting is right, the composition is great, the color looks fantastic, and the posing is the best we can do. What I can’t control are all of the people and personalities in a family. Those are the wild and hilarious variables that make each family unique and that create the beautiful authentic, storytelling photos that you’ll love to display in your home and look at everyday.
The number one piece of advice that I give to parents before family portrait sessions is to be realistic. Babies cry and poop – whenever they want. Kids do that ridiculous smile where they brace their teeth and close their eyes. Sometimes it rains. Sometimes it’s cold. Sometimes people have stains on their clothes that they didn’t notice. Sometimes we end up doing photos in your living room even though you didn’t make it look like a Martha Stewart commercial. This is all part of what I want to document for you – the imperfection of your life. I don’t want to make photos where you are all posed and smiling nicely for the camera. That is not real life. I want to make photos that show personalities and moments and memories and that will make you chuckle and smile every time you see them on your wall.
The number two piece of advice that I give to parents before family portrait sessions is to be realistic. (See what I did there?) Not everyone will smile in every photo, not everyone will have their ties on straight, not every child will give you the smile that you want. And it’s likely during that hour that at least one person will have a meltdown – it’s usually the 2-year old, but you never know. Still, we do our best. I’ll remind you to stop looking at the camera, look at each other, make a silly face and laugh as much as possible.
And the final piece of advice that I give families is to treasure portraits as time capsules, little moments you can relive over and over again every time you see that portrait hanging on the wall.
Head on over here to check out some examples of my family portrait work. And when you’re ready to schedule a session, get in touch!
