Family Photoshoot Fun

Recently, I spent a crisp November Chicago morning photographing a family photo shoot for my friend Katherine. Her sister, brother-in-law, and their kids came to her house to celebrate their mother's birthday, along with Katherine's husband and toddler son.

Family photography is a new thing for me, and there's always something new to learn when moving into a new area of photography, but I picked up a few key things right away.

"Forget I'm here," I told them. "Just hang out and enjoy each other's company and I'll shoot around you. Can we have some games and toys out for the kids to play with? Do you have favorite funny family stories you can tell?" And we were off and running.

We moved from room to room in their beautiful, airy, sunny house, and while I did break them up into small groupings here and there, and take a few more formal shots of the whole family, some of the best shots are just of them goofing and playing.

Sure, the "everyone up against the dining room wall" photo is okay, but to me it seems a waste of an opportunity to create a beautiful lasting memory through photography to only stick to the wooden, strained smiles of overly posed photos. That's why I want my clients to get silly, have fun, play around. This helps them relax and interact more naturally.

Another thing I also did at my first wedding shoot (and will do from now on!) was ask people to embrace and smooch. No one has ever balked at being asked to kiss their sweetie, and this playfulness can lead to some really warm and lovely portraits.

Know someone who wants some beautiful new family portraits? Have them get in touch with me, Elizabeth McQuern.