Awesome Candid Family Photos Without The Awkward Posing | An Hour In The Backyard With The Horner Family
/We all need less stress in our lives, right?
But we also would LOVE to have family photos. Photos of ourselves, just the way we are, to pass on to our children or nieces and nephews.
And that’s where the conundrum lies….
Book a photo session and stress?
Or not book one at all.
But of course there is a THIRD option: book a candid photo session.
You know: the kind of family photography experience that is not formal or stuffy. The kind of easy-breezy photo-session that you don’t really have to prep for… you don’t need to shop for outfits for…
This is what I do.
I’ve done more posey family photoshoots, and it’s been stressful. Stressful for the people involved, because they were too concerned about looking “just right” and smiling to the camera. But also stressful for me, because I knew that those smiles would never be as genuine as we could get if they just relaxed.
So over time, I’ve made it so that I mostly work with families who really and truly care about their real lives. Families who are not ashamed to post real photos. Families for whom family photos are not used to brag on social media, but rather - to cherish and relive, for years and years to come, with other family members and friends.
If you are nodding to this as you’re reading, then you’re the type of family that is perfect for candid family photography.
If you’re willing to surrender to being yourselves, not orchestrating your body or movements for the camera…
If you can just BE… just enjoy each other’s company for a little while, without needing it to be “perfect”…
Then perfection will come.
Because “perfect” is not the type of family photograph that makes other people feel bad about their lives.
…perfect is the kind of family photo that transcends place and time… that makes you realize we are all made of the same stuff, the same emotions… with the same need for love and joy… we are all human, and perfectly imperfect, making the best we can out of what we’ve got, and holding on tight to those we love… for as long as we can.
That is perfect.
And now, to illustrate just how chill and low-key a candid photography experience can be, here are a few photographs from the Horner family’s session.
They were moving out of Kingston soon, and they wanted to have a few memories of them as a family in their last days at their house. They’d already sold the house, and started packing. Stephanie had already sold some of the big furniture items! (which is a big win if you’ve ever moved house far away).
Their daughter, Eleanor, is still very young, so she likely wouldn’t remember this epic move from one side of Canada to the other…
But the photographs will always be there to remind her. Or to be used during story-time when her parents tell her of her childhood and her early life, in Kingston.
We had such a lovely time.
I spend an hour with this family, and we first started off indoors. Eleanor played with some of her favourite things (and of course with their kitty cat)
Then we headed outside for some digging in the dirt.
At one point, Eli headed right for the shed. She wanted to show me what it’s like inside.
It was very dark.
She wasn’t scared one bit.
I followed her inside and snapped photographs of her, bathed in this beautiful directional light, sliding the door nearly shut.
I was impressed at her bravery. When I was her age, a dark place like the shed would have scared me.
Not Eli, though.
She was so curious and playful. She drew chalk lines around her parents’ feet (she even did one around MY feet!)
We all had a lot of fun.
And that’s how a candid family photo session should be!