Why I Stopped Asking Families to Pose (Kind Of)
What If You Don’t Feel Comfortable Posing
Let me be honest with you from the start - I haven't completely abandoned posing. I still use it, and I think every photographer has to. But there's a big difference between using a pose as a starting point and treating it as the destination.
The Photo That Looks Like a Photo That You Were Made to Take
You know the photo I mean. Everyone standing in a line, shoulders back, smiling at the camera. It's fine…but when you look at it in ten years time it won't bring you straight back to that afternoon. It won't remind you how your youngest kept trying to wriggle away, or how your partner laughed at something you said. It will just be a nice photo of people standing in a line. That's not what I want to give you, and I don’t think thats what you actually want either.
What I Actually Do
When I start a session I will often suggest a position. Stand here, face this way, hold each other like this. Not because I want a posed photo but because most families arrive a little nervous and need something to do with their hands while they find their feet. The pose is just a settling in point to get us going. I might give you a little direction on where to place your hands, or how to hold your head at a certain angle.
And then I start talking too. I ask the kids ridiculous questions, I might tell them a joke. I might say something to make the parents laugh, or ask them about themselves. I might ask Dad to make Mum laugh, or maybe I’ll ask a kid to tickle Dad. And that's when the good photos come. The shoulders drop, someone looks at someone else instead of at the camera, a child does something completely unpredictable. That's the photo I was waiting for, and the one you’ll love too.
Why Natural Moments are Actually Harder to Shoot
Something I don't think clients always realise - photographing people naturally can be significantly harder than directing a posed shot. When everyone is still and looking at the camera I have all the time in the world. When a three year old takes off across a field and her dad chases after her laughing I have about two seconds to get everything right.
What This Means for You
Don't come expecting to stand in a field while I tell you exactly where to put your hands for an hour. But also don't worry that it will feel chaotic. There's a structure to how I work even when it doesn't look like it.
Your only job is to show up and be yourselves. Let the kids be kids and talk to each other. Try to forget I'm there as much as you can. Those are the photos that end up on walls.
A pose will never get us there on its own. But it's usually a good place to start.
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