Capturing Authentic Family Photos || Austin, TX Family Photographer
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, family photos are the most important photos for me to capture. I’ve photographed hundreds of families and although every one has a different dynamic, they all have the same goal … to capture a perfect photo of their beautiful, happy family.
But that’s really hard to do with kids that don’t quite understand the importance of what we’re doing and therefore seem totally uncooperative, dads that are stressed out for all kinds of reasons, and moms with frazzled nerves from trying to get everyone ready for the session and that feel insecure about themselves for a plethora of reasons. Everyone’s goal is to get the perfect shot with everyone looking at the camera and smiling. But what will that photograph mean to your children years from now when they look at it? “Remember that day when we all had to get dressed up in uncomfortable clothes and mom and dad kept yelling at us to smile and look at the lady with the camera and mom kept trying to fix our hair and clothes and dad was just super cranky the whole time?” Is that what we really want? Wouldn’t it be better to look back and say “Oh wow, remember this day we went to the park and dad was swinging us around, and mom picked us all up at the same time, and we ran around and played, and the lady with the camera kept saying ‘poopy pants’, and everyone had such a great time?”
My mission from here on out is to make every family photoshoot one to remember (for GOOD reasons 😆). Our #1 goal is going to be to have fun. Our #2 goal will be to get that one perfect shot that you can give to Grandma or put on your Christmas card. But the rest of your gallery is going to be full of photos that will really showcase your perfect, happy family and will bring back wonderful memories for your family to cherish.
Moms - Your kids LOVE you more than ANYTHING. They don’t care if your arms look fat, or your hair is a mess, or the photo isn’t from your ‘good side’. You are PERFECT to them and these photos of you with them will be TREASURED when you are gone. TREASURED. Don’t let insecurity rob them of these memories.
Dads - I know this time of your life is stressful. You are being pulled in so many directions and it’s not always easy to just ‘let go’ of the stress. There are probably a million other things you would rather be doing than a family photo shoot. But remember, your kids ADORE you. They look up to you and are learning from everything you say and do. Please don’t let them think you aren’t enjoying your time with them. This isn’t about me (the photographer) or Grandma (that wants a family photo). This is about making memories for your kids and documenting the present for them to reminisce on in the future.
Kids - Don’t look at me. And please, please don’t say ‘cheese’. Run. Play. Tackle dad. Hug mom. Laugh your little asses off. Just have fun. And I promise you I will capture these moments for you to remember when you grow up. And even though you couldn’t care less, we’ll also get that ‘perfect’ photo for Grandma.
A special thank you to the Aly family for trusting me with their family memories since these beautiful babies were still in mom’s belly. And thank you for this super fun photoshoot that helped me recognize what my true objective is. I 💜you guys!
