It's one of my favorite times of the year: fall festivals, pumpkin flavored everything, lower humidity, and senior pictures. A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of photographing Alyssa, Class of 2016 (Oh my god, where does the time go?!) in Lititiz, PA.

I think a successful photo shoot comes down to two things:

Helping your model look their best
Showcasing who they really are

Alyssa is passionate about Lacrosse and photography so we wanted to make sure to feature those interests in her photos. The American flag is also an important motif her photos as one of her family heirlooms is an American Flag and one her very dear friends has just enlisted in the armed services.

You can check out Alyssa's shoot below and her custom collage about. To learn more about my portrait services, you can contact me here.

Last weekend, I had my first family shoot of the summer: 4 family members, 3 locations, 2 hours, 1 photographer. I also bribed my friend Kalyn with dinner at Annie Bailey’s to come along and be my VAL (Voice Activated Light Stand). Reminder to self: Need intern. Check.

My favorite kind of family photography are the candids: the shots that capture the true dynamic of the family. Yes, I like the mantelpiece shots where everyone is happy, beautiful and smiling at the camera, but I LOVE the shots that come just after that one, where someone cracks a joke or rolls their eyes or slips in an extra hug. In short, I like the real stuff.

But how do you get the real stuff? That can be the tricky part. Let me break it down for you in the five steps:

1. Break the ice. I like to start every family photo shoot with my five minute spiel about how I work and what kind of shots we’re looking for– really just trying to break the ice. Everyone is usually pretty stiff and uncomfortable in the beginning of the shoot, which makes sense. You have an (almost) stranger in your face telling you to smile while keeping your chin down, head tilted, and if you could put your hand right there... So just taking a few minutes to review the game plan and letting them acclimate themselves to you is extremely helpful.

2. Give them some ideas. Hello, they’re not models! So it’s important to give the family some posing guidelines in the beginning so they have a starting point. As the shoot goes on, I usually do some more loose posing or let them suggest poses, but in the beginning, it’s important to give them more direction.

3. Let them alone. Sometimes the best photographs are getting them into some loose posing (Okay, stand by the corner of the barn, face me, you on that side, you on that side, fix that hair… okay, now just talk to each other for a minute… does anyone know any jokes?) and then just let them alone while the family dynamic unfolds. Making the family feel comfortable being themselves and around each other in front of the camera is the most important part of candid family portraits.

4. Pick your locations well, Ke-mo sah-bee. And scout them before the shoot whenever possible. This particular shoot was at three different locations, so it was not only important to know which shots we wanted to get at each location, but what order the locations needed to be in for optimal lighting.

5. Include personal details. Yeah, it’s cool that everyone looks great and the location is rocking, but personal details that are unique and specific to the family are what makes the difference. That can be including family pets, shared hobbies and activities, or locations that are meaningful to the family.

Easy, right? I mean when you don’t factor in weather, schedules, permissions, travel times…wait, this sounds like another blog. Until next time, enjoy the Vaughn family photos and special thanks to Kalyn Hope for helping out with the lighting.