We describe our approach to photographing people as ‘unposed, but directed’.
Directing gives families something to do. Most (but not all) adults and kids (over the age of about 5) like having something to do. It helps them relax and get into the moment.
Directing can also invoke play, which generally brings out laughter, physical affection and personality–all things we love to capture on a family session!
Posing is a much more involved type of direction which involves body parts, angles and expressions. We don’t do much of it at all, because it can distract people, make them feel fake, and also it makes them focus more on how they look and less on the moment!
Totally candid images are usually captured where there is no direction at all. We always capture candid moments, but sometimes people think that all our images are candid because they have a real feel about them, when in actual fact, most of them are directed to a certain extent.
The image below was loosely directed, as in, ‘hey guys, see if you can all get yourselves onto that log somehow’. And what I love is how the family dynamic unfolded. And that it’s just one of about a dozen beautiful photos taken on this very log.
This is one of my very favourite maternity images. It was directed and styled in terms of the location and clothing, but when mum picked up her daughter, I couldn’t have directed the way she placed her hand on mum’s hand or looked back at me over her shoulder. And that’s what makes the image so powerful and full of feeling.
In this image, my family are playing one of our favourite games for 2 adults + 2 kids, as directed by me. You can’t pose a shot like this, and I’m sure you’d agree, the expressions are EVERYTHING!
