In fact, I encourage the children to play; that's when their true personalities shine through!
A family session that incorporates the Beloved technique is, in my opinion, just so much better than any other kind of portrait session. Here are my top three reasons why I believe this:
1) It's less stressful for the parents
Sometimes the thought of having to 'control' your kids long enough to get some decent portraits taken is enough to put you off even trying. I completely understand that concern, my own children are often a flight-risk and the thought of having to try and get them to sit still in a studio and smile for a camera is really quite stressful!
A Beloved session just takes that stress away. I'll always start a family session by just letting the kids be, letting them explore the location and just have a play for a bit. We can get some lovely photos during this time. Completely stress-free portraits of them just being themselves!
Once they're relaxed we'll start with some prompts and games that are just fun for everyone. It's really not about posing and making sure everyone's smiling for the camera. It's about you enjoying time engaging and interacting with your family. I'm just there to capture the magic!
When you ask children to smile for the camera you very rarely get a genuine smile. With small children you invariably just get them baring their teeth in a weird smile/grimace! Really not what you want in photos that you want to hang on your walls!
Using the Beloved technique means that we won't get any of those forced smiles. All the expressions are real, authentic and simply beautiful!
Honestly! Would you rather sit together and be asked to look at me and smile, or hug on demand, or would you rather spend a few hours playing games, chatting and being yourselves; interacting the way you would do naturally?
I know which one sounds more fun to me!