Our Perfect Family Portrait | In Pursuit of Pictures

We all have a vision of how our perfect family portrait should be. The perfectly coordinated clothing, the perfect smiles, the perfect location, the perfect lighting, and of course the perfect hair! We stress much about it before the Portrait Session and by the time we are into the Session, we have tried everything on our kids (whether they are 3 or 13) — the bribes, the threats, the treats — anything to make them cooperate, smile naturally and behave. “Just for this one picture, please!,” we desperately beg them! Yes, I am guilty of it as much as anyone else.

And then the magic happens! We see the pictures, and the meltdowns and the tantrums are forgotten. For me, capturing the “moments in between” the “perfect” family shot is just as important. I like to create a variety of shots and the formal family shot is just one of them. I often let the kids take a break during the Session and play or run around, and let them be kids. It gives them and their parents a breather from constantly being in front of the camera. They play in the play structure or run around happy, and we finally get the smiles we were hoping for! In this session, I let the kids play with the Fall leaves and roll on the grass. After all, this is what we want to remember most of their childhood, don’t we?