Wingaersheek Beach Family Portrait + Maternity Session

BOSTON FAMILY + MATERNITY PHOTOGRAPHER

When researching a portrait session for your family, you’ve probably seen many references to “posed” and “unposed” picture-taking. It’s very popular these days for clients to seek a photographer who can capture what are considered to be “unposed” images, where you and your loved ones appear natural rather than “stuck” in awkward poses. It’s not difficult to understand why this is a preferred style, because why wouldn’t we want images where we appear to be observed candidly, comfortable, and as we are?

The trick, however, is that it’s easy to confuse the look of your final images with the process of how they were created. That is, most images that look unposed were likely created with a posing process. This posing process starts at your initial inquiry when we select a session location and time of day to schedule the shoot, as we are already thinking intentionally about the appearance of the images. During the shoot itself, posing comes in the form of suggestions of where to stand and gather, as I am being mindful of backgrounds and flattering light. I’ll then provide you with “posing prompts”, which are a suggested starting point (“let’s have everyone stand in the tidal pool facing this direction”), and from that starting point, the action evolves naturally as you interact with each other. If someone is blocking another, or your hair is covering your face… that’s a good time for your photographer to gently offer direction to improve the image. Sometimes, I like kicking off a moment with a relaxed pose of everyone looking at the camera, and from there your attentions return to each other. That way, you come away with a diverse collection of images everyone can enjoy.

Without this guidance — if the session were truly 100% unposed — you’d be left on your own to wander as you wished without any interaction with the photographer, which makes for a lot of missed opportunities and will often make you feel more awkward than had your photographer chimed in with the occasional word of encouragement or direction.

Thank you to this lovely family for trusting the process, and I was thrilled to hear they loved the result. I look forward to working with this family again this season, along with all the other new families this summer!