As a Wilmington NC family photographer, one of my biggest goals is to take as much pressure as possible off of you before you ever step in front of my camera — because family photos shouldn’t feel like one more thing you have to perfectly plan, coordinate, and somehow convince all of your kids to participate in.

Especially when there are four of them.

One of my favorite things about photographing larger families is that there is so much happening. Different ages, different personalities, different relationships and usually very different opinions about what everyone should be doing at any given moment. Instead of trying to make all of that disappear for the sake of a perfectly posed family photo, I want to photograph it.

That means the expectations for your kids are pretty simple: come as they are.

A Fully Styled Family Photo Session

Before we ever get to the playing part, though, we have to figure out what everyone is wearing — which can feel like a full-time job when you’re styling an entire family.

That’s why as a family photographer I offer a fully styled family photo session with access to my extensive client closet. And when I say client closet, I don’t just mean a few dresses for mom. I have options for babies, kids, moms and dads, so we can create a cohesive look for your entire family without you having to order seventeen things online and hope at least six of them work.

I’ll help you choose pieces based on your family, the location we’re photographing in, the season and the overall feeling we want your photos to have. We’ll pull together personalized styling options so that when session day arrives, you aren’t standing in your bedroom wondering whether someone’s shirt is too blue or if you should have bought different shoes.

You just get to show up.

Family Photos Without the Pressure to Perform

Once we’re together, we’re not spending the entire session trying to get four kids to stand perfectly still, look directly at me and smile at the exact same time.

Because that sounds stressful for literally everyone.

My approach as a family photographer is much more natural. We’ll play. We’ll move. We’ll explore. I’ll give you direction when you need it, but I’ll also leave plenty of room for your family to interact the way you naturally do.

Your toddler can wander. Your bigger kids can be silly. Someone can need a snack break. Someone will probably decide they’re completely done with me at some point. That’s okay.

The goal isn’t perfect behavior. The goal is to create an environment where your kids can relax enough to actually give me the good stuff — the belly laughs, the bear hugs, the sibling chaos, the way they climb all over you and the tiny interactions you probably don’t even notice anymore because they’re simply part of your everyday life.

Family Photos That Actually Feel Like Your Family

When you take away the pressure for kids to perform, something really good happens: everyone else relaxes, too.

You aren’t spending your session correcting your kids or worrying about whether they’re “doing a good job.” You get to play with them, laugh with them and actually be part of the memories we’re creating.

And when we pair that relaxed approach with personalized styling and access to a client closet for the whole family, the experience becomes a whole lot easier from beginning to end.

You don’t have to know what everyone should wear. You don’t have to know how to pose. And you definitely don’t have to make your kids promise to smile for the photographer.

Just bring me your family exactly as they are.

I’ll take it from there. Ready to schedule your fully styled family session? Contact me to reserve a date on my calendar!