ACTIVITIES FOR YOUR IN HOME FAMILY PHOTO SESSION

I’ve photographed hundreds of families in my nearly fifteen years as a family photographer, and I have found that one of the best ways to end up with the most natural photos — the ones that look like you and what you want to remember — is to try to get your mind off of the presence of my camera.

There are lots of ways to do this.

When your kids are babies and toddlers, it’s pretty easy. The primary focus of most adults in the room is to follow those babies and toddlers around, cater to their every (frequently unexpected) whim, make them happy and keep them alive. They don’t think much about my camera, and it’s easy for you, the adult, to keep your mind off it. Little kids love to show me the things they love, and they ADORE when their grown-ups willingly sit down on the floor to engage in their favorite activities. (“What? You’re going to read to me/play magnatiles with me/draw with me/tickle me/chase me around the dining room table? YAY! I’m in! What camera?!? Hey Jaye, watch this!”)

Things get trickier as kids get older. Once kids are old enough to be “well behaved,” I find sessions harder, in a way. Sure, it’s easier to knock off those few “whole family smiling at the camera” photos, but most of you hire me because you want more than that. You want to remember this particular time in your life. The way your kids look at each other. The way they snuggle in with you when everything’s calm. The way their whole faces light up when they have your full attention. How do we get those when everyone’s looking at me expectantly, ready to take orders?

That’s when it can be helpful to have some planned activities up our sleeves.

I wrote a blog post ages ago about the reason we might plan an activity — in this case, it was making pancakes, and the “big sister” in this blog post is about to turn thirteen —

“It’s not about the pancakes, of course (or the books or the walk or the board game or the dance party, or whatever it is we may end up doing during my time with each family I photograph).  It’s about  creating a comfortable, fun and (somewhat) ordinary situation in which each family member can be themselves.  Cultivating the kinds of ordinary moments that define these years in each family’s life, so that I can freeze them, and give them to you.  For keeps.”

What should the activity be? That depends on YOU and what your family likes to do together, of course.Here’s a list of what I think are some great ideas, followed by a collection of photos that came out of them.

• Dance Party
• Tickle Fight
• Card Game (a fast moving one like UNO or Spoons is best)
• Jenga
• Board Game (Something fast moving and easy to pause, like checkers or tic-tac-toe)
• Connect Four
• Charades
• Zingo is great for little kids
• Cooking/baking (maybe do some prep ahead of time)
• Building something (blocks, legos, magnatiles)
• An obstacle course or a treasure hunt.
• Music! (It doesn’t have to be good – my photos have no sound!)

I’ll add to this list as I think of more ideas, but maybe this’ll spark some ideas that make sense for YOUR family. That’s the idea, really.

Thanks for looking,

Jaye