How to Conquer Family Photos With Kids | The M Family
Family photos with kids can be a little daunting. Especially when the session is going to be outside and you want to take advantage of the beauty of golden hour. Luckily for me, when you have clients like the M family, any worries melt away!
It’s always a good time with this family! I’ve been fortunate enough to capture so many milestones for them and it’s the best. One of my favorite parts of being a family photographer is watching families grow, seeing them back time after time, and getting to know them. I especially love when the little ones start to recognize me. It makes a session flow much easier when that happens!
The M family wanted that outdoor, PNW feel for their session,
and I knew the perfect place in the Portland area. I love that as a Portland family photographer, I have so many options for locations with trees, golden light, and tall grasses. The M family knows the importance of golden hour, so they made sure to adjust their schedule on the day of the shoot to accommodate a later bedtime for the kids. I promise it’s always worth it for those sun flares and golden light and never as bad as you think it will be!
I loved how the light filtered through the trees and danced along the tall wispy grasses at this time of year. It was a pretty hot day that day (99 degrees!). Dad was a little worried, but you’d never know they were sweating looking at these photos! This spot also has some nice shady spots to help stay a bit cooler, which was helpful.
One of my biggest pieces of advice for parents preparing for family photos with kids is…
to let your kids be kids! It’s best not to try and force anything and just let them play. If they’re grumpy or shy, that’s totally fine. We are capturing the moments and your life in this season, not striving for perfection. We’ll get good photos, I promise!
This isn’t something I have to remind the M family – they’re so fun, easy going, and have worked with me enough that things run smoothly. Little guy was a little skeptical of me at first (and probably a bit hot!) but we definitely got some smiles out of him. At one point, he just wanted to sit on the path and play with rocks, so that’s what we let him do. We got a few cute shots out of it! This is a perfect example of another suggestion I have for family photos with kids – let them get dirty!
Big brother had a blast playing with rocks, being goofy with Dad, and snuggling with Mom. He even got an ice cream cone after! (Bribes are everything for kids his age!)
So if you’ve been a little worried about getting family photos done with your little ones, don’t be! I have lots of experience with capturing the best and the real of families, and I’d love to do it for you, too. Reach out and let’s do it!
