6 Posing Ideas When Working With Dads For Family Photos | Nashville Family Photographer Dolly DeLong Photography

6 Posing Ideas When Working With Dads For Family Photos

With Father’s Day coming around the corner, I wanted to dedicate a blog post to dads & share the top 6 poses I always do with kids + dad in order to not only make the session more memorable but get more real & raw smiles from dad and the kids!

✅Note: if you are a newer family photographer, save this blog post for later and write down some of your favorite poses you read in this blog post! It may come in handy for your next family photo session! 

(Pose 1) Hold Hand With Dad and Walk Towards The Camera

This is one of the easiest poses I always like to start off with when working with family units! A simple way of directing this pose is just to ask Dad and kid(s) to hold hand and slowly walk towards the camera without actually looking at the camera. You may get some crazy facial expressions, but the in-between funny facial expressions are my favorites!

(Pose 2) Have Dad Hold Baby And Snuggle Them With His Nose

This pose especially is sweet when there is a baby in the family! I usually have mom at the corner of my shoulder so that the baby is semi-looking in the direction of the camera. The only word of caution of this pose is this = the baby may try to grab your nose if they have fast reflexes so don’t be surprised if you get your nose picked for one or two frames of pictures!

(Pose 3) Dad Sandwich Pose

This pose is the most unpredictable pose to work with because you don’t know what each child is going to do! I set the scene by putting Dad in the middle of a bed (or room or whatever setting we are in) and then I have all the kids surround him to give him a huge hug (like a Dad Sandwich)!

You just never know what you’re going to get, but I promise you, you will get lots of laughing photos for sure in this pose!

(Pose 4) Daddy Kissing Daughter Pose

This was is for all the girl-dads out there! Starting at a young age, a daughter needs to know her dad is always going to be in her corner & will always be her number one adoring fan! Most of the dads I have worked with in my career of photography have always been either so goofy or serious, but when it comes to their daughters, they become a tender-hearted pile of mush! (The proof is always in the photos) 

When I give direction for this specific pose I always have dad snuggle in very tenderly before giving the kiss! It makes for some really adorable photos!

(Pose 5) The Cheesy Dad Jokes Pose

So this one’s for all the dads out there who are armed and loaded with the best dad jokes. I will have dad hold their baby, toddler, or even younger child and just “talk” to them. Most likely when they are talking to their little one, they are always sharing a cheesy dad joke. It’s ingrained in most dads. 100% of the time I always get some sort of smirk out of the little one, and if it’s a newborn (like this photo) they most likely have gas (the newborn not the dad).

(Pose 6) The Superbaby Pose

Nine times out of Ten the super baby pose is always a hit with younger children and dads.  The direction I give to dads is to simply hold their little ones up “like superman” and to hold them up in the same position for about 25 to 30 seconds. Kids love being held in the air (again I say 9 times out of 10 because sometimes I will have kids who do NOT like to be held in the air, and that’s okay too!) 

You will most likely get a lot of natural laughs and smiles from this pose, and sometimes, you may even have a newborn puke onto dad’s face (so be sure to take this specific pose BEFORE the newborn has their milk break).

Summary

Again, if you are a newer family photographer please feel free to use this blog post as inspiration when working with families! Remember, these photos are a lasting legacy for the family unit, and every dad should have pictures with their little ones because time DOES fly by so fast! Be intentional about everyone in the family unit, and this includes dad too!

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Meet Your Friendly Nashville Family Photographer/Family Photographer Educator & Business Systems + Workflow Educator

Dolly DeLong is a Nashville-based family & branding photographer and a creative business owner who educates on all things Pinterest & Dubsado (and how to use these platforms as systems in your business)!  Dolly loves serving families, and business owners with her timeless, radiant photography.  And, she also loves educating other business owners on how to set up systems and workflows that will ultimately help them save time in their business.

She has a heart for serving the larger business community. Dolly shares her knowledge of tools like Pinterest, Dubsado, Email Marketing, and Business Systems with new creative business owners & family photographers in an encouraging and supportive way because she believes that even muggles can become automating wizards. Plus BONUS: Systems is where the MAGIC happens!

Dolly’s faith and love for her family motivate her to help other business owners find the joy and freedom she’s found in running a successful small business.

Whenever she has a spare moment, she enjoys watching TV (i.e. Survivor), loves eating way too many sweets, and listens to podcasts while running or walking. To work with Dolly DeLong Photography LLC, fill out her contact form here.

Interested in learning how to best automate a part of your business but you have no clue where to begin? Check out www.dollydelongphotography.com/automate to begin your automation journey today!

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