Okay, I admit it, I am using the term “misbehave” tongue in cheek. These three kids did not misbehave, they were a photographer’s dream to photograph. But there is one main reason why: their parents let them BE KIDS during their family session.

So, why does your title say ‘misbehave’?!

Because many parents view normal kid behavior during their family session as ‘misbehavior’. Let me give you some examples:

• Kids are making silly faces instead of ‘smiling nicely’.
• Kids are running away or squirming to get down instead of posing.
• Kids are jumping, yelling, wiggling.

Parents, I am not going to tell you that it isn’t hard to get out of this ‘good behavior’ trap. It can feel embarrassing when you feel like your kid isn’t being calm and agreeable. HOWEVER, I am going to let you in on a little secret.

Your kids are cute no matter what face they make. Parents? Not so much.

Whattttt? Let me expand on this. Your kids are cute 99.9% of the time. They are cute when they are energetic, they are cute when they are making silly faces. They are cute when they are running away from you! Even when they are yelling ‘poop’ instead of whatever other word they are supposed to say….still cute.

Do you want to know what’s not cute? Parents looking annoyed, frustrated, or angry. Most of the time when I cull images, it’s to get rid of ones with unflattering parent faces, NOT for the kids.

What does this mean for parents during a family session?

The answer for parents is simple, in theory. I want you to smile, relax, and laugh at your kids’ antics. That’s it! The more you let go and roll with whatever happens, the better your family session will be. I promise. I know that it feels scary to let go and trust me, but I can almost promise that every single image on my instagram feed was created from one of the scenarios of misbehavior above:

• wiggling
• running away
• saying silly words
• being very energetic

What the parents in the images throughout this post did was laugh and enjoy ALL their kids’ antics. Truly, they were happy and relaxed the entire session and it shows! Their kids’ expressions are happy and authentic because they were actually having fun.

For 2021: I want you to let it go (like Elsa) for your Boston family session.

Your kid doesn’t want to wear the shoes you picked? Let it go. Your little ones don’t want to act like the lovable siblings they usually are? Laugh it off. Toddler #1 doesn’t want to kiss your pregnant belly or be anywhere near you? Let’s chase him down and make him laugh! What I can promise you is this: the more you can relax, laugh, and make a game of it, the less your children will resist. Chances are, they will change their minds on what they want to or don’t want to do 1,000x during the course of our hour together. If you dig your heels in, so will they!

Now let’s make magic together!