Taking a good photo consists of many things like lighting, placement, posing, editing, and framing the image. The real truth behind a beautiful photo though is in the emotion. A truly beautiful photo makes you feel intertwined and bonded with it. Your family photos can do the same. A staged photo of your family is comparable to an encyclopedia look at your history, you get a brief and basic look at it. It is like your family but skimmed over.
“When I say I want to photograph someone, what it really means is that I’d like to know them. Anyone I know I photograph.”
– Annie Leibovitz
On the flip side, however, an emotive photo can transport you back to those feelings. It can remind you of your raw true memories, your real-life bond, and your ever-evolving relationship with your kids. Why not spark joy remembering your kid’s giggle, silly face, or feel their hug. You should remember the blissful love and sleep deprivation of your newborn, and your photos should tell your STORY!
We are so quick to clean our homes, plan out outfits, and portray how we think family photos should look. In doing this we remove our true story, we portray what others want and not what is our raw and authentic self. Before your session think about what components help tell your story?
Activities
Are there activities you enjoy doing as a family? We currently are going through a love for the Marvel Universe. We have been spending weekend nights sitting in front of the tv and watching the movies in timeline order. The kids love it, we love it, and in -20 degree winter weather it was one thing we all bonded with. I mean what is better than PJ little kid snuggles?! So if I were to capture my family right now in our element…. that would be with a popcorn, PJ wearing movie theme. In springtime, we would be outside exploring in the woods for deer sheds, and in the summer we would be having an epic sprinkler, popsicle, watermelon, and summer drink party.
Items
Are there items that your kids just love? Do they have a special blanket, lovey, lego set, book, or character? If you have an outdoor lifestyle session let me create a fun snuggle spot for a picnic, get cozy on a blanket, read their favorite story, and snuggle their lovey. Do you have older kids that love their bike or hoover board? Let’s go for a walk on the trail and capture your older kids with their fun helmets and on their bikes. Bring your family dog and let’s play fetch, explore nature and let’s go puddle jumping in rain boots, and let them wear a costume they live in at home. These items tell YOUR story, they make your image unique, special, and meaningful.
Messes
When we start focusing our family sessions on true storytelling, it opens up more room for mess. This mess creates a dialog for your story. It creates the jelly to your PB&J. Without jelly you just have a normal boring dry sandwich, but that messy jelly makes it sweet, savory, and complete! Don’t forget your jelly, don’t clean up your house, outfits, or personality to fit into your session. Let’s capture the pile of toys, the messy face, the mismatched costume, and the muddy toes. These complete your current phase of life, they help tell your story!
Emotions
If we create your session based on an activity that represents your unique family then we also get those real and raw emotions that come with it! “Say Cheese” is great for when you need a big group to look awkward, but I much prefer a good “Say poopies” or “Who wants to play hide and seek?”, “There is no way you can tickle daddy-he is too fast”, “Tell me about your favorite thing mommy does for you?”, or “Let’s go exploring, can you lead us over there to the tree?”. When we play, explore and have fun we capture real emotions too!
View more examples of previous KC lifestyle photos HERE!
