How to hire backyard family photographer and how to pick the best location(s) for family photo sessions with children.

What should you do when you want a family snapshot but have multiple kids and age ranges to consider? Call for reinforcement with a backyard family photographer and photograph in a place where your kids feel at home.

Life gets busy and we are all guilty of documenting our lives through our phone. The issue with that is the lack of great family pictures that represent the family as a unit.

One of the most common grievances I hear is that parents don’t have pictures alongside their children as they are the one snapping. Another common excuse is that many parents aren’t comfortable in their own skin due to the joys of child bearing and aging. For the sake of our children and to offer them memories to cherish, it’s important to find someone who will engage with the children and encourage them to showcase their characteristics.

I personally love family sessions, especially when it’s for client’s whose journey I have been a part of. In this family session, Nana and Val added their newest addition, Radha to the photo session.

As a father myself, I love working with children and coaxing out their natural curiosity of the camera and building up a rapport. I find the impromptu shots are usually the favourite as they seem to capture a freeze frame of their personality.

An example of a portrait that radiates personality is this image of Radha staring straight into the camera looking like she’s ready to take on the world. It is such a powerful yet simple composition that really encapsulates her strong persona.

I had photographed Nana and Val’s wedding spring before this session, which you can see here. It featured their other two children, and Radha was in Nana’s tummy! This time they wanted to get a portrait of their entire family but with mixed ages it was tricky deciding on a venue. Having worked with the family before, I recommended their parents backyard where the children would feel at ease and they wouldn’t have the stress of chasing a little one.

An important factor to remember when considering a family session is to find somewhere that the subjects will be comfortable. Less stress will inevitably lead to relaxed, spontaneous and natural poses and the pictures will shine. In conclusion, ditch the fancy backdrops in favour of a backyard family photographer and watch magic happen.

If you want to see how everything began, here is a Nana and Val’s wedding day blog post.