Being a family photographer is such a fun and rewarding job! There are so many benefits including being able to work from home, meeting beautiful families, making photographer friends, and being able to set your own schedule. However, it doesn't come without its difficulties. One difficulty that seems to be mentioned a lot in the photography world is knowing how to pose families in a candid way. Especially when each family is different. Coming up with poses for a family with teens is much different than finding poses for families with young kids. After all, a teenager usually doesn't want to give their mom kisses haha. Hopefully, this blog can give you some ideas on candid posing and will help you in your future sessions.
Dance it Out
This pose is fun for all ages! I love to pair different people up for this pose and either give them a certain move to do (such as twirling, throwing a kid in the air, swinging back and forth, etc.) or just let them do their own thing! If it is a family with both older and younger kids, giving the older kids a responsibility will help them to feel like they are helping out with the session and will get them excited to participate.
Nose Kisses
Nose kisses are a fun way to get intimate or giggly pictures. These are also fun because they can be thrown into almost every pose, or be a pose all on their own. You can use nose kisses between parents, between a parent and kid, or between siblings.
Walking Hand in Hand
I do this pose in almost every session because it's such a simple pose that gets everyone moving. I love to add movement by having them swing a young child, having a child up on dad's shoulders, having them walk in a line, or having them smile at each other.
Use Your Environment
One of my favorite things to do during a session is to use my environment for poses. Have kids jump between rocks, logs, etc. The kids will love it and you'll get those candid, playful moments. To make the picture even more intimate, have a parent or older sibling help the younger kids as they play.
Cuddle Up!
Not every family loves to cuddle, but for those that are willing to give it a try, you'll be able to capture some cute and candid moments for them! I love to tell my families to cuddle up as close as they can, either standing up or sitting down, and then will usually give them other prompts such as touch your nose to this person's cheek, smile at the person with the loudest laugh, hug this person, or I'll make sounds of the kids favorite animals to get them to smile.
There are so many ways to pose a family for family pictures! I hope these suggestions help you out at your next photo session. Just remember to relax and have fun! Your families hire you because they love your work and what you do.
Be sure to follow Gunsay Studios on Instagram, Pinterest, and check out our blog for even more ideas on how to get those candid poses.
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