Casual Backyard Family Session with The Braswell's

The Braswell family has been with me from the beginning. I remember capturing their engagement session many moons ago when I had just started my photography journey. In that time their family has grown and evolved and I’ve been so thankful to capture it along the way.

This time they welcomed Mark into the world and allowed me to stop by and capture the new family.
Since I’ve photographed them so many times, Rachel knew all the ways to get authentic and organized photos of her children but I wanted to give a few more helpful hints for how to take the best family photos.

Things to do to prepare for your family session:

Let the moment happen.

Don’t try to force smiles or hugs or laughter and let your kids act as they normally would. Lee played around in his swing set, showed me some toys and his karate moves, and rolled around in the grass but those moments are true to him and his personality.

Create incentives.

Sometimes a simple incentive can work for a little more control about photos. Rachel had a tray of cookies baking in the oven during her session; creating a relaxing environment and amazing smells that allowed her kid to know that indeed a sweet treat was coming at the end of the session.

Dress comfortably.

When you book a family session with me I’ll send over a family session guide that will help you choose the best outfits for your photos. The key besides dressing in the same color scheme is being comfortable. Nothing makes a photo feel stiff more than bad shoes or too tight clothing. For instance Lee didn’t like his shoes and chose different ones and guess what the photos came out just fine! I always embrace letting kids feel as comfortable as possible during the session to ensure success.