What to expect on a family photoshoot
If you’ve never had a family photoshoot before and your only memory of having your photos taken was at a wedding, it might be tricky to picture what a photo session of your family in your home might look like. Taking the example of a family of four I photographed last Summer in South East London, I’m going to take you on a journey into their session. Of course, every family is different so your session will be different but this hopefully will inspire you and reassure you at the same time.
Let’s play outside!
As I do before all my photo sessions, I had a phone call ahead of the photoshoot to talk with the family about what their children - a 5-year-old girl and her little brother aged 3 - loved playing together and as a family. This helped the family feeling ready while leaving room for lots of spontaneity, following the kids’ mood on the day.
When I arrived, the children were already outside on their decking and, after a quick introduction and a little chat, I started capturing some fun moments of Mum joyfully joining in the rocket launching!
The rocket sometimes disappeared in the air and the reaction on mum and daughter’s faces was priceless.
Dad was quickly enrolled in a race of mini bike vs scooter. When parents embrace the silliness of their children’s games, I know they will not regret it as I capture those really fun moments of family play.
In a flash, we’d already moved on to another activity the kids were keen to play and show me: their swings and climbing frame, set up under a gorgeous tree. It did feel we were in the woods for a brief moment, forgetting we were in the heart of a residential area of South London!
The children loved going as high as possible on the swing, especially the eldest, proudly showing me her skills with a smile.
Spotting a spontaneous hug on the trampoline
You can’t plan these moments of a dad reassuring his son in his arm on the trampoline, as that’s the beauty of documentary family photography.
Nothing is staged. Your children show you the way to be your true, loving self and forget about the camera.
Let’s chill indoors
Typically when working with children, the mood quickly changes and, at that point, they felt like going inside the house and play some games. Mum helped the little one with his train set while Dad got enlisted in a Ludo game with his daughter; unfortunately, and despite the hopeful wishes she did when throwing the die, she didn’t win…
Quiet moments when the excitement wears off
By that point, all the excitement had worn off the children who simply wanted a snack and some quiet time in the form of cuddles with Mummy and some lying down.
Those moments also deserve to be photographed, they tell another story of a family: the closeness between children and parents and a different side of the children’s personalities, when the overall mood gets calmer.
After viewing her photo gallery, this Mum sent me the most meaningful message:
“Marion, these photos are incredible.
I have been welling up looking through.
You have captured us all so beautifully.
Blown away, absolutely blown away.”
I hope this post will reassure you in knowing that there’s no perfect family photo session, there’s just a perfect time together when you go with the flow and simply join in with your children.
My role is to turn all these moments into emotive images that will make your heart go all mushy each time you see them.
If you’d love to have photos of your munchkin(s) and you together, just send me a message on my Contact page (or send me an email: hello@marionandyouphotography.com) and we’ll take it from here!
Want to see more?
Watch Yasmine sharing her own experience of her family photoshoot with me and see the results too in this post here.