Nervous about “looking awkward” in your photos? Let me help you!
The short of this blog post is, over the years, I’ve heard this many times; “I’m not very photogenic” LIES! All lies!
To really get into this though, this is not true at all. And for many reasons! The first and simple reason: I’ve been doing this a long time. I’ve worked with many MANY people over the years. It’s MY job to get an idea on what expectations are and “read” you or your family, so that we can get the best images that are true to YOU. And I’ve got the angles to help you look your best!
Families
Some families are full of play, and want to capture maybe a few posed images, and then let the kids be kids. In this case, I suggest poses and set you up, and then I capture your family interacting with each other, having fun, and just being a close unit. During this part of the session, I might guide you, but this is not the time to worry about the kids climbing or jumping. Part of the fun is exploring with the kids. Again, I might give prompts, like “Can you find mommy some flowers?” or “Can you show me how hard you can hug daddy?” Kids typically love a fun task or challenge.
Posed
“Tickle Fest!” prompt
Letting kids be KIDS
Some families are quiet and calm, some families have older kids, and enjoy sticking to a more posed session. I’ve got you covered there as well! Rest assured that I will capture quality images that you will be proud to hang on your wall.
Portraits, Couples, Maternity
Since these sessions are either solely focused on one or two people (minus if the maternity session includes other children, then that would be closer to a family session in the way the session takes place), they’re usually more posed, but with a heavy dose of prompts. What does that mean? It means I will suggests poses, and we’ll capture that, but then a prompt might be thrown in there, which will typically cause a reaction and THAT’S where the candid and unique personalities shine through. What does this looks like? Well, let me give you some examples:
For this couple, I casually posed them for their pregnancy announcement:
The prompt came when I asked him to whisper something in her ear, which caused a beautiful laugh:
For this portrait, I casually posed her under this beautiful tree:
And for the prompt, I asked her to give me her best “cat-walk,” which gave a lovely candid shot.
Your Story is Bigger Then You:
The second reason not to stress too much is…your photos are NOT just for you. They are for your family, your loved ones, your friends. For this reason, I try not only to encourage my clients to GET IN THE PHOTO (especially you, Moms!), but to print your images. When kept properly, photographs can last lifetimes, generations! The photos you take today, are potentially photos that your grandchildren will be cherishing, and beyond!
Speaking from personal experience, I love the images I have of my great-grandmother, and her farm she used to run in Maryland. I was just a little girl when she passed away, and I don’t have many memories of her, but I enjoy knowing where I came from, and the memories my own mother shares about growing up on the farm. Another personal story is how I’ve been searching through ancestry.com for the past year, I LIGHT UP when I find photographs of long lost relatives from ages ago. To see their faces, to read or imagine their stories of living through the times they were born to. Can you imagine?! These photographs are anchors in time of where we came from.
Your photographs from your sessions with me will be no different, except they’ll be BETTER than just a plain ‘ol phone capture.
A little perspective for you:
Are you ready yet to book your session? Don’t be nervous! Part of my job is to help you look and feel your best for your photos! Let’s capture images you’d love generations down the line to cherish!
