Do you ever feel “stuck” coming up with posing ideas while you’re shooting a family session?
After you get that traditional photo of everyone looking at the camera and smiling, almost every photographer knows that uncomfortable feeling where you start to sweat and wonder…
Well… now what?!
It’s that awkward moment when your clients are looking at you for more direction, but instead you freeze up.
Or maybe you’re at a shoot where you actually had lots of great ideas for the session, but the reality is that one of the tiny humans in the family is NOT HAVING ANY OF IT and you can feel everything unraveling.
*Cue photographer sweat*
Whether you’re dealing with:
– Kids using those stiff “camera smiles”
– A baby who’s too young to understand what’s going on
– An energetic kiddo who just can’t sit still
We’ve found that…
Playing games at family sessions can truly SAVE the shoot!
Super simple posing games can INSTANTLY:
– Win over young kids
– Make parents feel relieved and grateful
– Get photos that look more joyful and natural
– Restore YOUR confidence when things feel like they’re unraveling
Here are five super simple “games” you can play with your clients at family sessions that will:
– Get warm, authentic smiles and laughter from your clients
– Increase the variety of poses in your client’s gallery
– Create a fun client experience that will keep them coming back year after year (and telling their friends!)
5 Easy Posing Games
1. Tickle Fight
Tickle fights are one of our tried and true go-to games that kids LOVE. Tickling = power and kids LOVE power. Plus, it’s almost impossible not to catch genuine laughs during a tickle fight. These shots always end up being some of our favorite photos from family sessions.
2. Fly Like an Airplane
This one can be a HERO when you have a small child who doesn’t want to look at the camera. Instead of looking into a lens, they get to do something they love (being flown in the air) while they only focus on the parent flying them around. They usually forget you’re there, which leads to some super cute photos.
3. Escape the Hug
Kids LOVE a challenge. Anything that starts with, “I bet you can’t…” always seems to get their attention. Daring a child to escape their parent’s hug usually leads to precious laughter and some of our favorite parent-child photos.
4. Spin, Spin, Spin and Stop
There are a few ways we use spinning depending on the age!
For tiny tots who don’t understand why they should stay in one spot, a parent can easily pick them up, spin them around in their arms, and abruptly stop right in front of the camera (and repeat!) for surefire giggles.
If there are two or more kids, have them hold hands and spin around together for a sweet sibling pic!
5. Red Light, Green Light
There are so many ways to use “Red Light, Green Light” but having the whole family hold hands while they walk toward our camera is one of our favorite ways to do it. Starting with “green light!” and quickly jumping to “red light!” (stop!) usually generates the most giggles.
There you have it! We hope this helps at your next session!
The next time you start to sweat, just pull one of these games out of your pocket, and get ready to create photos (and an experience!) your clients will treasure!
POSING COURSE
Did you know we have an entire course dedicated to nailing joyful, fresh, natural, flattering posing on ANY type of client? If you want to learn more about our Posing Course, you can click here!
