Third - Have willing family members/participants.  This includes your husband and your children, or if you are going for an extended family session it could include your mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, Uncle Ted . . . you get the idea. 

So how do you get your kids to cooperate?  Bribery of course!  They will work hard for their reward by following the photographer's directions and in return you can pay them with a reward.  Whether it's ice cream (Poppy's Ice Cream & Coffee House in downtown Lee's Summit is definitely worth smiling for family photos!), a toy from Target, a trip to the park (Miller J. Fields Park is a great summer option with the spray park and the playground there is tons to enjoy!).  You know them best, but be sure to make it something that will be a real treat!  My kids went through a phase where they loved tootsie rolls.  So after one family session they each got their own bag of tootsie rolls, yes a whole bag! Of course they were not allowed to eat the entire bag in one setting, but you should have seen the pride on their faces when they received their goodies. 

Now onto your spouse … some husbands are totally on board for family pictures, but then of course there are those that are not.  You know your husband best, sweet talk him into 'behaving' lol for family portraits.  To be honest I've had a few families and couples tell me after the session their spouse said they really enjoyed the portrait session and it was more fun than they thought it would be.  That is always music to my ears!

Another key to having willing children is timing.  Do not schedule your family session during nap time or meal time.  Schedule your family memories to be captured during a time of day the kids will be at their best.  You can bring snacks too if you think they may need a little pick me up in between shots.

Having a fun photographer will also help to get those kids willingly to pose like the adorable models they were born to be.  I will often ask silly questions or play a game with the kids while we are doing family portraits to make it fun and seem like less "work" for the kids.  Plus who doesn't smile when they are having fun!  

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Fourth way to get that perfect family portrait session is to have a flexible photographer.  One thing I've learned to be flexible with is a late client.  It's so hard to get everyone ready and looking their best and be on time, I know this myself from experience.  I like to give my clients grace if they are late, I do love it when they send me a heads up via text though.  If they are running late I don't want them to be stressed out when they arrive or get in a car accident rushing to the appointment.  Of course if someone is over 20 or 30 minutes late we may need to reschedule due to lighting or if I have an appointment following their session.  But I like to leave a little extra room in my schedule to be on the safe side. 

Another way I like to be flexible is with my posing … often times I've directed my clients to move a hand here or there and either I did not communicate well or they misunderstood and did not do it quite as I had imagined, however if you go with it many times the client has actually put themselves in a better position than I imagined or something that is more them and more natural to who they are.  This allows me to capture their true inner self.  Sometimes kiddos are also playing around and being silly, I love this because this is that magical moment that is harder to recreate from scratch.  When the kids are being kids I'll snap some action shots before I reel them back into some more traditional posed shots.  Having a photographer that will go with the flow will reduce everyone's stress level and allow for those perfect posed and action shots you will love for years to come.