Family Portraits at a Farm: A Relaxed Session in Austin

Most of my portrait work tends to be dramatic and personal. But I really do enjoy photographing families. Working with a real family and happy kids is a nice change of pace, and I’m glad to do it for the right clients.

I recently photographed a mom and her two young kids at the Smith Hill Farm. The idea: we’d just walk around while the kids visited the animals, and I’d photograph whatever happened along the way. Basically, no plan or list of poses.

The studio and controlled lighting, indoors, is my jam. So, doing a shoot outdoors at a farm with young children is a different kind of session, and a fun one. Of course, inside of ten minutes it was clear this wasn’t going to be about carefully building one portrait after another. Every time I thought I had something lined up, someone wandered off, a cloud covered the sun, or an animal decided it had somewhere better to be. I just stayed ready, kept moving with the kids, and let things unfold at their pace.

Then, near the end, one of those special moments I’d been hoping for.

I think the older sister had been a little shy in front of the camera. This is very common. I was like that as a kid. Her younger brother was happily running from one animal to the next, but she was keeping a little distance now and then. Then she quietly connected with Gus, the farm’s old donkey. Gus has a reputation for not wanting to be bothered by adults. But with her, he was gentle and seemed to really want to connect. He actually walked over to her so she could interact with him, which he doesn’t do with everyone.

It only lasted a short time. But it was long enough for me to make a few photographs that everyone seems to love.

I couldn’t have planned or posed those shots. It happened because nobody was rushing and nobody was being told where to stand. It’s just that one of my subjects found an animal she connected with, and I was close enough and ready enough to see it.

That’s pretty much how I approach family sessions. Kids don’t perform on cue, and I don’t ask them to. I just want to keep things fun, loose, and just let the good moments show up. And you know, some of the best photographs come from the quiet stretches when it doesn’t look like much is happening.

The family told me they’ll treasure these images, and that’s the best thing I can hear after a session.

If you’d like something like this for your own family, whether that’s a farm, a park, or your own backyard, you can reach out through my booking page. We can talk about what would suit your kids and go from there.