Here are some main guidelines for posing siblings and families:

1. Everyone should be on the same plane or layer, no one should be directly behind or directly in front of anyone else.

2. Make an effort to have everyone’s heads NEAR the same level, so no one is a lot taller or shorter than anyone else.  (Most of the time)

3. No one should be facing straight on, everyone should be angled inwards or towards the middle.

4. Everyone should be “Overlapped” with some people partially behind others.

• Hands and arms should not be the same, ie: mix them up a little with some hands in pockets, some around shoulders, some hanging down, some holding hands, little ones holding a leaf or flower, etc.
• Feet are important.They should not be facing to the side or to the front even if the feet are not showing it helps better position the body.One foot should be to the side and one should be facing a little forward.

When posing, I usually start with the biggest people first.

• Start with Mom and Dad sitting facing inward a little.Then Layer one in the middle and one on the right and left.Or two in the middle.

Standing is the same, first Mom and Dad facing inward, then one in the middle, one on the left and right, etc.

• I do the same with Kids only (Siblings).Start with the oldest one in the middle and turn the others inward towards them.If kids are sitting on the ground, their legs will almost always be CRISS-CROSS APPLESAUCE or MERMAID SIT!!!That’s it!

• With only two siblings, I STILL start with the older or larger one.Sit or stand the older kid and then layer the younger one in front or behind.If there is a large height difference, SIT the older kid and STAND the younger so their heads will be closer to the same level:

Taking the photo:

• Make everyone laugh and take some photos.“Everyone say their favorite food on the count of three.”Or “Everyone say, ‘You’re weird!’”
• Take a Candid - Have everyone look at one person.Say, “Everyone look at the baby and tell her she has stinky diapers.”Or say, “Everyone look at dad and he’s going to ask you what you want for Christmas.”Or Have the interact with each other. Say, “Tell your sister something weird about me.” Or tell them to “Look at Dad and tell him to dance!” Or “Tell your brother something icky you want me to eat.”Give them a Leaf or Flower to pass back and forth.

• Tell Everyone to get their heads closer and zoom in for a closer photo.

Walking Photos

• These are harder than they look.I almost ALWAYS have people go back and walk a second time telling them what they did wrong the first time.
• You MUST MUST get low.These look better if you take them from a very low position, some times I’m actually lying on my stomach.
• Mix up the arms so it doesn’t look phony – ie: Dad’s hands in pockets with daughter holding his elbow, his arm around someone’s shoulder, Mom holding hands with someone, etc.
• These are usually candids with the family or siblings interacting .But there should always be ONLY ONE FOCUS POINT OF ATTENTION – everyone should be looking at one person, not just randomly staring in different directions. I usually have one person tell a story or ask everyone a question and tell everyone to look at this person .Here are some examples of WRONG FOCUS:

Infants, Toddlers and Candy!

I’m usually too loud for infants, so I choose to ignore them and not even make eye contact. As I’m warming up the older kids and talking with the adults, the infants are watching me – if everyone else likes me, then they will trust me. I tell mom what to do with the infant, but I don’t touch them or look at them until later in the shoot when they’ve warmed up a bit.

Toddlers, three and four year-olds… can sometimes cry or refuse to sit with a sibling or take photos at all. That’s when I bring out the candy. I first ask the adults if it’s okay to use some C-A-N-D-Y.I tell them that with adults we use red wine, but with kids we use sugar. I explain that if you give the kid five or six Smarties and wait about ten minutes… they’ll have sugar in them and will be in a much better mood. I then shoot another family and come back to them.

Other times I use the cand for a bribe. I show the Smarties to the kids and say, “If you sit next to your brother I’ll give you this candy.. okay?” And they’ll usually nod and comply!

I use Smarties because they are small and will disappear quickly.  A lollipop will be in the photo forever, and something chewy will last too long as well. Sugar pellets like Smarties melt quickly!

I use lollipops only as a bribe with older kids… maybe six or seven years old.. I show them the lollipops and tell them they can have them at the end of the shoot if they agree to take some photos! Magic! Parents think I’m a genius!