Are you sick of families who have been trained to look right smack at your lens with the cheesiest grin you have ever seen? Me too. 

But here is the thing… my clients rarely do that anymore and I am going to share with you my secret. 
It’s because I have educated them BEFORE they ever get in front of my camera. They know what to do before we ever actually meet in person. 

Here is how I do it. 

1. I don’t ever post photos of families looking right at the camera anywhere. Not on my portfolio (especially not on my portfolio,) not on social media, and rarely on my blog (but I will there *sometimes*.) 

Your ideal client doesn’t know they need lifestyle photos until you tell them they do.

Clear as mud? Let me explain…
Take clothing companies. I haven’t worn overalls since 1995, but all of the sudden I am seeing overalls all over the place and suddenly I *need* them. Like now. I am not a fashion expert so when I see a trend I trust it 100%.

But I *am* a photography expert. So I put my work out to the world and when a potential client lands on my page and sees an image like the one below they suddenly think “I want that to be my family. I want that.” Bam. They aren’t expecting to look at the camera. They are expecting to look like my art. 

 

2. I educate my clients literally as soon as they inquire. In my welcome guide I explain exactly how their session will go and I tell them that I won’t be asking them to look at the camera. I explain that I want them to simply interact with their family and that I will guide them how to do so. I position myself as the expert immediately and they trust me 100% because of it. 

So getting your families to stop looking at you starts before your session even begins. Believe in yourself and that you are an expert and your families will too. 

Have a great day! Fee free to share this with a pal who you know would appreciate the tips. 😉 

xo,
Elena 

P.S. Wanna learn more about creating a relaxed family session experience? Click the button below to take my free mini course!