When I became a professional family photographer years ago, I never thought that I would be the one to calm kids AND set parents at ease. I started this gig with no kids so who was I to tell parents that it would all be ok? Well, I can honestly say that once I started, I knew that it was what I was supposed to do. It just clicked and I never looked back.
I’ve met so many people over the years, and there are all different types of moms when it comes to a photo session. There are the super anxious moms, the very laid back moms. There are super organized moms and not organized moms. There are pinterest moms (you know, the ones that send the photographer 50 different photos of what they want) and the moms that have no idea what they want. I’ve seen just about everything. We all have ideas about how we think our photoshoot should go (or maybe that’s just me, hahaha) but I’m going to let you in on a few secrets!
1. Moms, I gotchu! I am a mom. I understand anxious. I understand the need for organization. You can talk to me and tell me what you have in your head. I am here to make all of your photoshoot dreams come true. You just have to trust me a little. So what does that trusting me mean?
2. Kids will be kids and we just go with the flow. I am more of a lifestyle photographer, so I give some directions but I mostly try to capture emotion and interaction in my photos. I like to capture true personalities and if we are trying to force a child to do something they don’t want to do, we aren’t going to see those personalities and emotions in the photos. So if we have something that’s just not quite working out, we will move on to something else and see if we can circle back. With children there’s often no rhyme or reason, we just have to keep moving.
3. All moms are beautiful. Sometimes people get a little nervous when a camera is going to be in their face (or anywhere in the vicinity of them). I promise there is no reason to be nervous. I’m here to capture beautiful moments of you and your family at your best. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do. If I don’t think something looks just right, I’ll move around until I find the sweet spot. It’s all about lighting and angles with photography and we just have to find the right parts of both to make everyone look their best.
