Here's something I want you to sit with for a second…the moments you're most tempted to apologize for during a session (the meltdown, the kid who won't stop wiggling, the sibling squabble that breaks out right when everyone is finally looking at the camera)… those are often the moments that become your favorites. Not the polished ones. The real ones. If you've ever held back from booking a session because your family feels "too chaotic" or "too unpredictable," I want to gently tell you that you might be thinking about this all wrong.
The Session That Didn't Go According to Plan
I was photographing a family at the beach a while back….young kids, beautiful light, everything was going well. And then one of the little ones tripped and went down. Sand on his face, tears, the whole thing.
My instinct was to step back. Give them space. And so I did.
What happened next was one of those moments that reminds me exactly why I do this work. Mom was right there, comforting him, both parents wrapped around their boy. I quietly photographed that and those ended up being some of the sweetest images from the entire session.
Nobody was looking at the camera. Nobody was smiling on cue. And yet, everything that family represented was right there in those frames.
What "Authentic" Actually Takes
I hear a lot of photographers talk about authentic moments like they're something you can just ask for. "Okay, look natural!" (been there, done that, didn’t work).
In my experience, authentic moments aren't something you manufacture. They come from families getting comfortable enough to forget I'm even there.
Here's what that actually looks like in my sessions:
I play games with families. They are fully engaged and embracing this time to just be together.
I ask families to share things with each other. Favorite stories. What they love most about the other person. When a mom tells her daughter what she loves about her, I promise you, that's not a posed moment. That's real life.
I take on the job of directing the session so that the family's only job is to have fun with their people.. When they know I've got the logistics handled, they can actually focus on each other..
Trust is a big part of this. When families know I'm going to guide them through the whole thing, they stop worrying about whether they're "doing it right." And that's exactly when the magic happens.
The Thing Most Families Get Wrong Before They Book
I want to be really honest with you about something, because I think it'll save you time and energy.
Not every photographer is the right fit for every family - and that's completely okay.
My sessions are built around families who love to hug and snuggle and play. Families who are genuinely okay if most of their photos aren't of everyone looking straight at the camera. If that sounds like you, we are probably going to have a really great time together.
But if your family isn't into that kind of closeness and play? My approach is going to feel uncomfortable, and I'd honestly rather you find someone who's a better fit than push through a session that doesn't feel right.
The misconception I run into most often is that there's one universal idea of what a "good" family photo session looks like. There isn't. The best session is the one that actually looks and feels like your family.
So before you book anyone (me or otherwise), ask yourself…does this photographer's work look like us? Do their sessions feel like something we'd actually enjoy?
If you look at my gallery and think "that looks like our kind of chaos," then yes, let's do this ❤️.
Why This All Matters (More Than the Perfect Shot)
Twenty years from now, you are not going to pull out your photos and say "I'm so glad everyone was looking at the camera in that one."
You're going to look at the one where your youngest was mid-belly-laugh. The one where your kids piled on top of their dad without being asked. The one that happened right after something went sideways at the beach.
Those are the images that make you feel something. And feeling something is the whole point.
This chapter of your family's story - the busy, loud, imperfect, beautiful one you're living right now - deserves to be documented exactly as it is. Not a polished version of it. The real one.
Ready to See What Your Real Life Looks Like in Photos?
If you've been putting off booking a session because you're worried your kids won't cooperate, or that your family is "too much", I genuinely want to hear from you.
The chaos is welcome here. The meltdowns, the wiggles, the kids who would rather dig in the dirt than stand still….I've seen it all and I love it.
Head over to kimlloydphotography.com to learn more about how I work and to reach out about booking your session. Let's document your family exactly as you are right now, messy hair and all.