Family photos can sometimes be an awkward time. You are having your picture taken and you don’t know how you look. You are worried are your kids going to cooperate or are they going to be grumpy and not participate and listen. Your husband may not be as excited as you are to be there. One way that I make your experience more laid back and fun is by giving your family simple prompts to get you interacting and moving. This makes the session much more relaxing and gets everyone having a good time!

5 simple prompts for a family session in Seattle

Everyone look at each other
No this one is super simple. At first everyone looks at each other and it feels weird and awkward but as soon as you do someone starts to crack a smile and then another and so on. That is the moment that I start snapping away. This strange prompt will induce real laugher and smiles for my to capture.

2. Tickle Each other

One way to get really authentic emotion is to tickle. Kids will have fun ticking mom and dad and they will have the biggest smiles on their face. I love this prompt because it brings out the most joy and this gets kids broken in and ready for the rest of the session.

3. Everyone walk and hold hands or swing someone in the air

This one gets everyone moving and when everyone is moving we are relaxed and not stiff. We aren’t worrying about how we look. This is a natural way to make you look and feel comfortable. I like to add one more fun element by swinging a child in the air. It’s always super fun for your child and gets another element of joy into your photos.

4. Get close and snuggle

I love to inject joy and motion wherever I can in sessions but I also like to add some more intimate and sweet moments as well. This is one that I like to do either sitting on a blanket or standing works too. It’s very simple I ask you to get close and when you think you are close enough I ask for you to get closer. It can sometimes feel a little strange but photographs beautifully and brings out lots of oowy goowy emotion that I love.

5. Motion, motion and more motion

Like I said above motion gets you feeling comfortable and keeps your mind off of having your photo taken. It will keep your kids engaged and having a good time. I find that motion is pretty essential for kids so if you have younger kids this really helps to achieve a fun, interactive session. There are a few different ways that I achieve this.