Lakeside Lifestyle Family Photos: How to capture the perfect moments!

I have always loved lifestyle images. And if you're not quite sure the difference between lifestyle photography and more traditional family photos, here's the scoop... basically with lifestyle images you're capturing more of a "natural" moment rather than a posed one. So like you'll see in these more candid shots, you're able to get more of a "feeling" or action instead of the typical posed smile shots.

What I love so much about this concept is that it's more like freezing moments in time. And I put together these tips to help you get great lifestyle family photos of your own!

1. Select an Activity. It's best to have an activity your family can be enjoying together to keep the photos both interesting and true to life. I always recommend choosing something that your family loves to do. This will help preserve that memory and also will make it more "natural" when the photoshoot is happening-- like your kids will be genuinely having fun so you can capture those REAL smiles instead the forced fake ones they tend to do! (or is that just my kids?!! :)
2. Make sure everyone is fed! This is such a hard one some times because it's always a challenge getting each person ready on time. I usually pack a snack bag or even sometimes incorporate food into the shoot! ie. for these lakeside photos I wanted a picnic set up because we love a good picnic-- so I took snacks to set out like cheese and crackers and little oranges too! I usually tell them we can take a snack break in the middle of the shoot.
3. Props, props, props! Think about what you would have for the activity and bring it along! We love taking boats to float in the lake and beach chairs, towels, etc. These items keep everyone entertained and look great in the pics too!
4. Keep it natural! If you're like me you may have a tendency to want to control things! To get kids to stand still or not be too crazy, etc. but honestly some of the best shots come when you allow your kids to just be themselves! For instance my daughter who is 6 is a little free spirit and she just loved sprinting through the water when we were taking these pics. It was one of those things that was a natural instinct to want to stop, but we let her go and I REALLY love the shots where she is splashing around both because it looks cool in the photos, but even more-so because it was an actual memory we were able to capture forever of her little personality!
5. Have fun! Remember grown ups should have fun too! Interact with your children and spouse as you naturally would and just try to relax! This is another reason why I say to pick an activity you all enjoy together-- it will be easier to have fun with!

When you are thinking of ideas that may best suit your family for a lifestyle photoshoot, I thought it would be helpful to have a list of some of the ideas we have done previously for ours to get your mind going!

• Baking cookies together
• Reading books together in mom & dad's bed
• Catching bugs
• Playing in the playroom
• Going on a nature walk
• Decorating the Christmas Tree
• Building sand castles at the beach
• Lakeside picnic
• Riding horses
• Going to a local carnival or festival at the park

Really the ideas are endless once you start thinking of activities your family loves to do together. It's also important to think about clothing and I know a lot of people have told me they get overwhelmed with this. My best advice is to pick clothing that is subtle and/or blends in with the colors/style of your home. Since you will likely be displaying the photos in your home, it only makes sense to have them fit in with your decor! Spoken like a true interior designer, right?! haha.

My favorite selections for Spring/Summer are breezy neutrals-- like this linen dress I'm in love with!! I will link the clothes I selected for this shoot (and similar) below to help you in your search too! Just remember, family photos really can be fun!! XOXO.

P.S. These fabulous pics were taken by Kristina Bills! And we did get some darling shots that show faces more too, but I like to keep them off the WWW :)

GET THE LOOK:

[show_shopthepost_widget id="3607847"][show_shopthepost_widget id="3607881"]