This family session was one of my favorites of the fall, and it features my newest team member, Vanessa, and her beautiful family. I had been dying to get Vanessa to second shoot for me this past spring, and once I did, we immediately hit it off and I started having her shoot for me whenever she could. She is an incredible Chicago family photographer in addition to her wedding skills. Fast forward 6 months, and I have officially brought her onto my team as an associate photographer! She is actively booking weddings with me for the 2023 season and I am so thrilled to have someone as talented as her on my team. I’ll be sharing more about her on my website soon, but if you’re interested in working with her, click here.
But back to these family photos. We last minute threw this on the books because she is always taking photos of her kids but never photos of her with her kids, and I demanded that we changed that. I was able to squeeze her into my schedule before a hectic October, and we ended up having the most perfect, almost-fall weather at the end of September. You’re going to look through these photos and saw “HOW” and while I can’t give you an exact answer on how to get your kids to cooperate this well during sessions, I will say one of my biggest things is letting the child lead the session. I usually try to start them out with solo photos BUT if they aren’t feeling it, I immediately throw mom and dad into the mix, let the kids run around, and let them be themselves without forcing a smile. Eventually, the smiles come and when they do, its easier to ask your kids to look at the camera during your session.
Scroll to see some of my faves of her, her husband and kiddos.
All images © Arielle Gallione 2022
