How To Capture Candid Moments In Your Family Photos
Candid Photos
When I photograph families, I like to get a mix of traditional, posted portraits and candid photos. Most people tell me that they have no idea how to pose and they look terrible in candid photos. Well, not with me, you don’t! I’ve spent years honing my skills and making sure my clients end up with the most amazing candid photos (and posed). In this post, I’ll talk about the ways I do that and how you can prepare for your own family photos.
Why Candid?
Real life isn’t posed. We don’t go around posing for real life situations, so why should you do that for photos? I love it when photos accurately represent the people in the image. It may sound strange, but most parents choose at least one photo of their child having a moment. It may be a frowny face or a temper tantrum. Why? Because those photos most accurately represent the moment and the time in their child’s life. We want to connect with out pictures in a relatable way and there’s no better way that to capture the moments as they are.
In short, candid photos give us the most accurate memory of the moment. And we, as humans, crave that.
Family Photo Locations
The type of candid photo you get will vary depending on the location you choose. If you’re a family that loves going to the beach, you’ll want to schedule your session there. You’ll get photos of you all playing and laughing in a place that you love.
More of an explorer type? Great! Let’s head out the trail. You’ll have so many fun pictures of you exploring with your kids and doing what you love.
The point is, do what you love, where you love to do it and your pictures can’t be anything but amazing.
Activities
Planning Activities
Planning some fun activities is a great way to get candid photos. Kids don’t like to have their picture taken, so keeping them entertained is a great way to avoid tears and frustration.
Plan some fun activities like stacking rocks or bring blocks, looking for creature in the tidepools or even just playing with a favorite stuffed animal.
Not All Are Candid
Not every photo needs to be candid. Most people want a few photos that are posed, so we do those too! I’ll have some simple poses for families and they usually start with simply walking together. Easy, right? I’ll even have a few bear hugs thrown in to get those adorable smiles.
