My posing flow for family photos.


I prepare, prepare, prepare for my family photo sessions. I memorize your names, likes and dislikes and even your dream shot! I scout the session beforehand, looking for the best lighting and visualize where I want each pose to be. I have a posing flow that includes the entire family, each parent with each kid, individual kid photos and ends with the entire family again. I do all these things because family photography is beautiful, unpredictable AND crazy! 60 minutes goes by really fast and there's always a few curve balls thrown in! But when I prepare for a session, I feel like I can handle those blips smoothly. Here's my general posing flow for family photo sessions.

Parents swinging their daughter at sunset in Marymoor Park.

Pose #1: Standing


Everyone gets out of their car, is greeted by me and together, we'll walk towards our first location. I'll engage with your kiddos, ask them a few questions, then we'll start with our standing poses. I like to get these look-at-the-camera, holiday card photos knocked out right away. Kids are a little nervous and a little excited...they don't know me well enough yet so are willing to do as I say. I'll have everyone look at the camera and also a few prompts to elicit candid smiles.

Poses family portrait in Redmond.
Mother daughter posed portrait at sunset.
Father whispering into daughters ear.
Mother and daughter smiling at Marymoor Park.

Pose #2: Sitting


Now that everyone's loosened up a bit, both with their muscles and with getting to know me, we'll do the sitting poses. I'll have a blanket prepared and have dad sit down first, as he's usually the least flexible! :) Once dad is comfortable, we'll nestle everyone else in around him.

Family sitting on a blanket, smiling at sunset in the summer in Redmond.
Daughter showing off her missing tooth.
Family sitting on a blanket, tickling each other in Redmond.

Pose #3: Playing


I generally like to save the playing for the end, as I feel like once kiddos start running around, they're wired and have a difficult time sitting still. I'll give a few options and let the child take the lead. I LOVE when parents are just as excited as their children to play. It makes for the best, most magical, most joyful photos that you'll treasure more and more over time!!!

Family playing parachute in a field in Redmond.
Family playing parachute in Redmond at sunset.
Family dancing together.
Daughter blowing bubbles while parents look on at sunset in Redmond.
Daughter blowing bubbles while father looks on.

A few posing questions...


Like I mentioned at the beginning, family photo sessions are unpredictable and don't always go as planned. Here are a few ways I handle that:

  • What happens if the child is feeling shy? If your child is feeling shy, I'll give them some space. If there are outgoing siblings, I might photograph them first. If it's just your child, I might photograph mom and dad first. I could also take some far away, wide angle shots...acting like a fly on the way and give you a prompt to walk with your child.
  • What happens if the child doesn't want to follow any of the prompts? I don't force your child to stand and say cheese. That's the biggest way to make a session fail! Sessions are children led. If they want to explore and act like we're in a safari, we'll do that. I'll work my prompts sneakily into the games we play!
  • What if I can't sit on the ground? I can find a bench or log for you to sit on, or we can scrap the sitting pose all together! If one parent is able to sit on the ground, I could photograph them doing that for some variety, then photograph the other parent, in a variation of the standing pose.


I ask that all families to come to their sessions flexible, relaxed and with a playful attitude in mind because children are children! If the parents have a great attitude, the children will as well. I have some more tips for successful family photos here and here. Thanks for reading!

Parents walking with daughter in a field in Redmond.