10 Fun family photo poses with a familie fotoshoot utrecht

Before we start on the family photo poses I want to talk a bit about this great photoshoot location in Utrecht, the Bergse bossen in Driebergen Rijsenberg is a free forest area to use for any photoshoot – but this particular spot -which I checked out before doing the photoshoot – is ideal for a number of reasons.

Familie Fotoshoot Utrecht – Location Driebergse Bossen

1. Sand to play in – When I saw the sand here I immediately thought of the endless possibilities of photos you can ger with three young boys. The sand becomes a prop in this family photo session and really gets those natural smiles . Its also a perfect backgound creating texture and a feeling of being carefree as we tend to associate it with the beach
2. Trees to climb in – what boys under the age of 5 do not love to climb trees? And this location has plenty! fallen down trees, chopped down trees, trees to make forts in – you name it its there!
3. A long winding road through the forest to explore. Ok you do need to watch out for cyclists but winding roads make natural lines and are great for group family photos and a break from the sand to get the boys to run or family to walk together.
4. A swing – as if this all wasnt enough there is even a swing in a tree which is perfect to get a couple of shots of

For more info on Utrechtse Heuvelrug you can visit this site and check out what there is to do Op de Heuvelrug 

Deze familie fotoshoot utrecht  was erg leuk vanwege alle elementen die erin samenkwamen.

This step seems obvious, but I know from experience that not thinking it through can leave you with a blank mind in your creativity, and especially with little ones , you need to keep their attention and energy flowing so its important to always have the next idea ready. I came up with these after my visit to the photo location in utrecht

Family photo poses and Ideas list

1. whole family on the road standing/crouching – walking and running shots can also be done here. either just with mum or dad, each child individually etc
2. Sitting on the fallen down tree, All in a row , balancing etc
3. Mum or dad helping boys balance on the fallen tree  or boys playing on their own on the fallen tree
4. mum or dad sitting on the swing with boys individually or collectively – play around with the group and see what works
5. Playing with the sand – throwing in the air, making sand angels are possibilities
6. Digging for treasure with mum or dad
7. Building a fort with branches together as a family
8. climbing the tree stump to see the view
9. Swinging around in a circle or turning upside down
10. On dads shoulders

These are the family photo poses and ideas I loosely come up with before I actually did the shoot. So you see it is important to understand your location and have an idea in your head of what you want to do. But it is also equally important to remember that its a little like herding cats. So here are my final tips below for success.

1. Do no try to follow your photo ideas list absolutely or perfectly to a T. You have to go with the flow and improvise. You dont know the characters of your subjects as yet, when you pake the photo list so it is better to keep this very fluid and if things change on the day be ready to adapt.
2. Keep the actual posing to a minimum. There is nothing that will change the mood of a shoot more than if you try and overpose toddlers and small children. The magic of carefree family photo poses is that they happen in a few seconds and then the attention diverts to something else so the energy stays up and the kids dont lose interest. Overposing will just lead to both frustrated kids and parents and it will show in the final photos.
3. Use photo prompts and always memorise a few to use in an emergency as well – photo prompts are things that you can use to try and get a smile when the actions are not working or when you just want everyone to focus on you for a second – like i said herding cats. Some of my favourites are to ask who took the longest to get ready for the photoshoot, or For parents to quickly tickle the little ones to get a quick smile. Read more about how to get natural family photo poses in this link.