Free family photography posing guide
This free family photography posing guide gives you six prompts that work with almost any age, from toddlers to dads who don’t really want to be there. They’re built around movement and play, so nobody has to hold a smile. Download it, keep it in your bag, and reach for it the next time your brain goes blank in the middle of a session.
Even those of us who have photographed families for years freeze up now and then. Family sessions are full of the unexpected. One of my clients’ kids once saw the ocean, stripped naked and ran right in before anyone knew what was happening. That was fun…
Why prompts work better than poses
I’ve photographed well over 500 families, and every curveball you can think of has been thrown my way. In those moments there are a few tried and true prompts I reach for to get things moving again. I wish I’d known how valuable they were when I first started working with families.
Kids are kids. They want to have fun without feeling pressure to smile or stop wiggling. A prompt gives them something to do, and it gets the parents laughing too. That’s where the real expressions come from.
What to do with your hands
This is the question every parent asks, and it’s the easiest one to fix. Give hands a job. Hold a child’s hand, rest a hand on a shoulder, wrap your arms around someone from behind, or tuck one hand in a pocket. Anything that touches another person looks natural, and anything that hangs at your side looks like you’re waiting for a bus.
Download my free family photography posing guide
Download the free guide here. Try at least one prompt at your next session, then email me and tell me how it went. I’d really love to hear.
Booking a family session of your own instead? Our guide to preparing kids for a Hawaii family photo session is a good place to start.
Written by Aislinn Chalker, founder of Wilde Sparrow Photography. I have photographed families on Hawaii’s beaches since 2012, our team holds more than 200 five-star reviews, and our work has been published in Click Magazine. I edit every gallery myself, including cleaning up busy backgrounds. Learn more about us.
