There are millions of poses that you can use during your family photos. My job as a photographer is to direct you to the best ones for your family. During the session, I always have an essential set list that I will go through in my head. In between these “must-get photos”, I will snap some more lifestyle images.
What is lifestyle photography?
It’s an unposed, more artistic approach that will capture the moment in a candid manner. I like to capture motions, details, blur, and photo of the environment; I like to embrace imperfection in those photos, which makes the session feels like a real-life moment.
There are millions of poses, but I have listed below my 10 favourite family poses and shots that summarise my brand.
-
Close up of baby in parents arms
This one is one of my favourites, as babies who don’t walk or stand by themselves, yet often are in their parent’s arms on a day-to-day basis. Taking a cropped photo of this moment; focusing on showing the baby’s eyes and expression, manifesting this special bond they have with their parents is something that is important to me as soon, they will grow up and spend less time in your arms.
2. Playing games
Playing games is important to keep the session light and fun. I am myself am fond of games and very competitive! I use prompts, adapted to the child’s age, such as “Dad, throw the baby in the air”, “let’s play hide and seek” or a simple “run as fast as you can”. It brings smiles and playfulness into the photos.
3. Breastfeeding
This shot is so special for me as it shows how much trust you have in me to capture this special connection with your child. Breastfeeding is often judged upon: “your baby is too old to be breastfed”, “you shouldn’t feed your baby in public places”. Mothers are tired of hearing other people’s judgments, but breastfeeding shouldn’t be a source of shame or embarrassment. We should be proud to be able to hold this special gift to feed our own children and fight people that tell us otherwise. By photographing this special moment, I wish to show and desensitise people about this simple, primal gift that shouldn’t get frowned upon in public places.
4. Parent with child
In this shot, I like to pose the child in either mum or dad’s arms, hugging or looking at the camera. This shot is important for me to show the child’s special bond with each parent. By doing so, I am trying to create this photo heirloom that they will cherish for the rest of their life.
5. Close-up lifestyle photo
I looooove this shot as it creates this viby artistic family photo that can be printed in large in your family home and be considered as an art piece. It creates this emotional memory capsule that throws you right back into the moment with your loved ones.
6. The classic whole family
This is a classic shot, unmissable on my top list. This pose can often look old fashion and stiff but it doesn’t have to be. I like posing with my families sitting on the floor and looking at each other or partially looking at me. In this photo, I liked to play with the different levels of the photo, adding a touch of colour with the yellow daffodils and the purple tree behind my subjects.
7. Couples only!
Yes!!! YOU ARE IMPORTANT! Keeping a special bond between the parents is important to have a healthy, stable family and it’s immensely special for me to capture this. I will ask you to hug, snuggle, kiss, dance, keep in motion, laugh and have fun. This is a must-have on my list and I want to make sure you feel loved and special.
8. Child only
On this photo, I will adapt to your child’s age. I want each child to have a photo by themselves, where I will capture their true nature. If your child is timid, we will go and hunt for insects or smell flowers. If they are hyper, we will play games. My job is to embrace who they truly are.
9. Details of their world
In this shot you will have nothing to do, I will catch a detail in the frame, something special that I want to show. A cute little baby foot, a worm found by your youngest, a ladybug landing on a leaf next to you or a robin watching us from the nearby tree. These images are always delivered as an extra of your initial gallery and take part in telling our photo session story.
10. Siblings
As parents, having a good photo of your children together is important. How hard is this when you try to get one yourself? They are covered in jam, or the youngest refuses to look at the camera. Or by the time you figured out the right lighting you have lost their attention and they decided to play lego instead. I will pose your kiddos in a relaxed manner, that will show the special bond that they share.
In this photo, after playing a few games, I set the tone down and start telling these little girls a story, they sat on the sofa, and I asked them to get as close as possible to each other. It’s a subtle amount between posed and a naturally occurring situation.
Here are my favourite 10 poses for family photos. I hope it inspired you.
There are many more poses and shots that we could explore together, each family is unique and create so many possibilities, this is what I love about family photography.
If you like my work, I invite you to send me an email to reserve your session at the link below.
