One of the things that’s usually a guarantee when going into a family session is the look on Mom and Dad’s face that says “Dear God, I hope my child cooperates today.”

I take a little bit of the responsibility for that because, naturally, when I post pictures from a session I usually pick ones that show happy, smiling or cute faces and rarely show a face full of tears.  So when parents come into their session, they have this fear that little Johnny will be the only child I’ve photographed who maybe won’t “cooperate” for the camera.

But the fact is, almost every family session that I’ve done includes those not-so-angelic kid moments.  Stomping. Covering their eyes from the camera for twenty minutes. The out-of-nowhere-holding-their-breath-type cries. But KIDS ARE KIDS…so when parents apologize profusely when their little one has a break from character, I have to kindly laugh.  As a family photographer, if I don’t understand that these moments will happen, I’m in the wrong business.

It’s why I choose to do my photo shoots the way that I do… blocking off at least two hours to allow the “not-so-angelic” times to play themselves out, and going to an outdoor or familiar setting that allows the children to just be themselves. When they are free to roam, play and have fun – we give ourselves the most opportunities to capture their sweet little spirits in their most genuine form.

So if you’ve ever held back from doing a photo session with your kids because you’re afraid they won’t be perfect in front of the camera,  just remember that – almost always – there’s a tiny bit of this

Before we capture this 🙂