My 3 Favourite Family Photography Prompts For Natural, Candid Smiles

Today, I’m flipping the script to talk all about family photography! Balancing candid and posed shots during a session can be hard, but it’s so important for capturing the true vibe of a family’s unique story. In this week’s episode of Keeping It Candid, I’m sharing my top strategies for finding that perfect balance, plus my three favourite prompts to use for genuine reactions and natural emotions in photos. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, these tips are meant to help make your next session easy and fun. Keep scrolling for links to the episode, show notes, and a full transcript!

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Show Notes

Chronically Ill, Disabled & Neurodivergent Photographers Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ndspooniephotographers

Template Shop: https://simplysandrayvonne.ca/shop

Get A Free Month Of Pic-Time: https://lifeisbeautifullondon.pic-time.com/referral

Takeaways

• Balancing candid and posed photos is important in family photography to cater to different client preferences and situations.
• Tickle photos, asking who has the stinkiest feet, and the sneak attack are effective prompts for capturing genuine reactions and natural emotions in family photos.
• Sandra Henderson is launching a shop that will offer templates and resources for streamlining the backend of photography businesses.
• She has also started a community for photographers in the chronic illness, disabled, and neurodivergent community.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Expansion of Topics
02:07 Balancing Candid and Posed Photos in Family Photography
04:30 Three Favorite Prompts for Capturing Genuine Reactions in Family Photos
07:44 Launching a Shop for Streamlining Photography Businesses
08:42 Creating a Community for Photographers in the Chronic Illness and Neurodivergent Community

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TRANSCRIPT

00:00 Introduction and Expansion of Topics

[00:00:00] Sandra Henderson: I know I mostly talk about wedding photography over here, but I mentioned at the end of last week’s episode that I have been doing family photography for as long as I’ve been doing wedding photography. It’s one of my favorite things to do when I’m behind my camera. And after my interview with Dolly DeLong that was aired last week, I just felt like it was so fitting to keep talking about family photography on the podcast. So I’m going to be kind of widening the depth of the topics that we cover here. More so leaning into the keeping it candid and dropping the wedding part of the wedding photography unfiltered because there’s so much more to talk about and there’s so many ways that the different, you know, sub industries, all playing together.

[00:00:50] So today’s episode is going to be focusing on just that, and it is going to be short and sweet because if you are anything like me, your to do list at this point in wedding season or busy season is just getting longer and longer. So I don’t want to add anything else to your plate. This is going to be a short and easy listen.

[00:01:11] And hopefully give you some inspiration for the next time you’re behind your camera.

[00:01:16] Welcome to keeping it candid. I’m your host, Sandra Henderson, an international wedding and family photographer and business coach. I help wedding photographers use systems to build out the back end of their businesses to gain control and continue to thrive no matter what life throws their way. And on a more personal note, I’m a strong eneagram three wing too who is obsessed with tacos, and my love for traveling combined with navigating chronic illness life are just two of the many things that drive my passion for all things systems, workflows, and beating burnout as a business owner.

[00:01:46] Join me every week for a candid behind the scenes look at what it’s really like working as a wedding photographer, where I’ll give you actionable steps to take your business to the next level. Absolutely no fluff here, friends. So go grab your favorite notebook and pen, and let’s dive into this week’s episode.

02:07 Balancing Candid and Posed Photos in Family Photography

[00:02:07] My approach to photography in general, but especially when it comes to family photography, is doing a mix of both candid and more posed formal photos. And the reason why I do this is because no matter how much we wish it was different, grandparents and even some parents just don’t get those creative photos.

[00:02:29] All of those, photos where we have people running around and if you’re like me,, you might get kids to make silly faces and things like that. Having blurs and different edits are all so popular when it comes to photography. But as much as we love all those kinds of things, there are definitely still people in this world that are looking for those more traditional photos And so it is important to cater to them to a certain extent. We want to make sure that grandparents have photos that they’re super excited to print with their family and put them up on their mantle on their fireplace. We want parents to be super excited to receive photos of our kids.

[00:03:06] And put them up on their wall and display them proudly. And then we can save all of those really fun, silly, creative ones for ourselves. 

[00:03:14] So that’s why I always do a mix of the two. I also find it’s a great way to balance a kids energy levels because it does come and go. And sometimes you’re not always going to be able to get them to sit still. So giving them the opportunity to move around and capturing some candid photos can go a long way as a bargaining tool to then get some littles to come back and give us another quick smile for a more formal photo.

[00:03:39] And then they can go and have some fun again.

[00:03:42] And then aside from preferences of, you know, grandparents and other people who don’t get quote unquote those more creative photos, there are also situations where these photos might be used by the clients where they want to clearly see everybody’s faces. So, lots of reasons why doing a balance of the two is super important.

[00:04:01] Now if all creative candids are entirely your style, and that’s what people are coming to you for, then of course you want to give them that. But if you are someone who does a little bit of both, like me, or you’re wondering if there’s one that’s better than the other, and you’re still trying to feel it out and feel out what your style is going to be, try doing a mix of both and see how that goes and how that feels for you.

[00:04:23] So with all the why’s out of the way, let’s talk about what my three favorite prompts are to use for family photos.

04:30 Three Favorite Prompts for Capturing Genuine Reactions in Family Photos

[00:04:30] First, the easiest go to that I’m sure is not a surprise to anybody that does family photos or who works with littles is tickle photos. Anytime that we can get parents or older siblings or anyone to reach in and tickle some littles, we are always going to get the best smiles and the best reactions. And so that is my go to for every single session.

[00:04:53] We’re always going to do a tickle photo.

[00:04:56] The second one is actually one I’ve just started using in the last couple years, and I find that this one works better for kids who are a little bit older. It kind of misses the mark with toddlers and with older teens, but if you get those kids that are kind of like in those middle ages, Asking them to look at the person in the family who has the stinkiest feet is another way that you are going to get so many laughs and genuine reactions from the people in front of your camera.

[00:05:24] And then you may also get a little bit of a friendly debate afterwards while everybody argues because it’s not this person, it’s that person. And the candids that come along with that are just so great.

[00:05:35] And in that situation, it’s a perfect example of how you can do both a more posed photo and a candid photo because you can get everybody into position. You can get that photo with everybody looking at your camera and smiling, and then you can throw the prompt at them about looking at who has stinky feet and catch all of the candids and fun that happens after that.

[00:05:54] Now last but not least this prompt is going to have to be used when you’re outdoors and when you are working with people that have a lot of room for mobility and this is the sneak attack. And so I like to do this with kids of any age whether they are toddlers, toddlers. Or they are older teenagers.

[00:06:14] What we do is we put the parents or grandparents or whomever in the middle, and then I either put all of the kids behind or in front of the couple or that main subject, and then I let them know we’re going to pretend like that couple in the middle can’t hear me. And I want you guys all to run and sneak attack them. You’re going to throw your arms around them, keep them looking nice, but I want you to just go and have some fun in a big group hug.

[00:06:40] And then I get my camera ready and I just start taking photos of everybody running in together and everything that happens after that, which is usually pretty chaotic. But again, it brings out so many amazing natural reactions and gets rid of those stiff, awkward smiles that come when you’re standing in front of the camera for too long.

[00:06:59] So a quick recap, those three prompts that are my absolute favorite go to’s for every single family session to get genuine reactions and natural emotions from your subjects. First, tickles. Two, getting everybody to look at who has the stinkiest feet in the family. And three, a good old fashioned sneak attack.

[00:07:20] Now before I wrap up this week’s episode, I have a few little housekeeping announcements that I want to make. First, is that the shop that I know I’ve been talking about for a few months now, the final touches are finally coming into place and the shop is going to be launching so soon. It’s taken a little bit longer than I expected it to because it is a labor of love to start a project like this, and I am still in the midst of busy season over here.

07:44 Launching a Shop for Streamlining Photography Businesses

[00:07:48] But it’s almost ready and I cannot wait to share it with you. So make sure you head over to simply Sandra Yvonne. ca forward slash shop because templates are coming your way for HoneyBook smart files, workflows, email templates…

[00:08:03] my goal for this shop is for it to have anything and everything you could possibly need to help you streamline the back end of your business in a simple and sustainable way.

08:12 Creating a Community for Photographers in the Chronic Illness and Neurodivergent Community

[00:08:12] And then, if you are listening and you are a photographer who is in the chronic illness, disabled, or neurodivergent community, I want you to head over to the show notes for today’s episode or head to facebook. com forward slash groups forward slash n d spoonie photographers because I have started a brand new community for people just like us. That’s meant to be a place where we can all just hang out and support one another through the rollercoaster of being an entrepreneur while managing things like chronic illnesses, disabilities, and neurodivergent. Things that, let’s be real, feel like a full time job themselves.

[00:08:52] What works for others doesn’t always work for us, and so I want to change that by bringing us all together into a space where we can tune out all of the other noise of things that just don’t work with our lifestyles. In this group, I may post a podcast episode or a tip here and there, but for the most part, it is not meant to be an educational space.

[00:09:12] We have enough of those. This is a community where we are focusing on support and surrounding ourselves with other people who just don’t. Get it.

[00:09:20] So again, you can find the link to that in my show notes, or you can head to facebook. com forward slash groups forward slash nd spoonie photographers

[00:09:31] and on that note, that wraps up this week’s episode, friends, but thank you so much for being here as always. I will be back next Wednesday with a brand new episode. And in the meantime, come hang out over on threads. It’s my absolute favorite social media platform right now. And it’s the only one I actually enjoy being on. So come over, hang out, have some fun conversations. I promise it is awesome over there and you can find me at Simply Sandra Yvonne.

[00:09:56] Have a great rest of your Wednesday and we’ll talk soon.

[00:10:00] Today’s episode of the podcast is sponsored by PicTime. This is the gallery service that I use in my photography business that literally doesn’t compare to anything else I’ve tried. First and foremost, it’s fully accessible to Canadians. All the other platforms I’ve tried have been open to Canadians, but they limit the features that we can access because of having to work with American printers or tax limitations and things like that.

[00:10:25] But with PicTime, it is Fully accessible. All features can be used up here in Canada. You can set it to Canadian pricing. You can set it to Canadian printers. If you are a U. S. listener, of course, you have lots of options. But as a Canadian photographer, those features made me very, very happy.

[00:10:43] Pictime also has pre made and custom automations to help you boost your sales year round.

[00:10:49] There’s optional AI facial recognition, AI watermark protection, custom storefronts with international pricing options.

[00:10:57] It even integrates with honey books. You can keep all of your client files organized and linked together and even view the photos from the gallery inside your honey book account. I could truly go on for hours about how much I love this platform.

[00:11:34] Thank you so much for listening. You can find full show notes from today’s episode at simplysandrayvonne.ca/shownotes. In the meantime, let’s connect! You can find me on Instagram and TikTok, just search Simply Sandra Yvonne. And if you love this podcast, I’d be so honoured if you go ahead and hit that subscribe button and leave a review. Until next time!

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