My latest adventure with Becci and my three favourite tiny humans! Lifestyle photography captures children in their element. I love these real and unfiltered moments of playing in the mud, gathering wood for the fire and bushwalking. Some parents feel anxiety leading up to their photo session as they want the day to go smoothly and hope their children will behave for photos. Spending some time with Becci and her three kiddies reminded me of what really goes into making great photos.

PREPARE YOUR CHILDREN

Start talking to your children about your photoshoot a few days prior to get them familiar with the idea. Talk about it with excitement but also make it sound normal and fun, you don’t want to overwhelm them with expectations of how you think it will go. Tell them what to expect from your photographer. You can tell your children that your photographer is a friend, so they don’t seem like a stranger.

EXPECTATIONS

If you go into your photoshoot feeling stressed and nervous about how your toddler is going to behave, the chances are they are going to pick up on this tension. They might not want to sit still, look at the camera and smile. My first evening with Becci one of her twin boys didn’t want to come outside for photos and she didn’t force him which I really respected. If you put pressure on them it might make it harder and we knew there would be another opportunity to get photos on the following day (this situation is a little different to my normal 1-hour session as I spent the night with them).

My best piece of advice is to go with the flow and work with your photographer to capture natural moments together, these are often the best photos! You might need to make it fun and let your child play, be convincing that its fun!

LISTEN AND GO WITH THE FLOW

Children will go through different stages and phases. They may only want one parent to hold them and getting them on their own isn’t going to happen without tears. The best way to work with toddlers is to not force them but to comfort them, they might be nervous! Work with what you can. Sometimes bribes can work, or perhaps they just need their favourite toy.

Becci is definitely the most ‘go with the flow’ parent I’ve ever met, this mud puddle was so much fun and she didn’t care about the aftermath or clean up. Totally worth it!

LIFESTYLE FAMILY PHOTO SESSIONS

My family photo sessions are fun, relaxed and easy going. I’ve photographed families with children of different ages and every session will be slightly different. I use all of the tips mentioned above in order to capture the best moments of your family.