Taking the McKnight family pictures was a delight, I love a big family! You may know them from their YouTube channel Cute Girls Hairstyles, I was happy to capture their family joy a few years ago.
I loved everything about this session, and it was especially fun that I brought my girls along as my assistants, because they are big fans of the McKnight Family.
What to Wear
Deciding what to wear in family pictures can be overwhelming. It takes some thinking, planning, and often spending. But I believe it’s worth it for heirloom family pictures that look cohesive.
Here is a fun little video I put together to give you a visual for what to wear in family pictures:
Relaxed family pictures
I’ve found that pulling a silly face actually helps families to change up their smiles, when you can get a little silly in-between shots. I loved they didn’t hesitate to pull a silly face on command!
The McNight Family
I met Mindy and her husband Shaun years ago at a blogging conference, and we talked about how we needed to get together and swap photography for video tips. I could use some help in the video department, but they seem to have their photography down quite well, I think! Â We re-connected again later on, exchanged info, which brought us together for their family picture session here. Though we live 3 hours apart, we found a way to make it happen.
10 years ago Mindy started the website and You Tube channel, Cute Girls Hairstyles. I introduced it to my daughters, and they have become quite the hairstylists!  Always practicing on my hair and her own, even my adult neighbor asks my daughter to french braid her hair. She loves watching the hair tutorial videos on their You Tube channel, a new video comes out each Sunday night.  Favorite hairstyles are Self Waterfall Braid and Feather Waterfall. Click on the image below to go to their channel.
The McKnights 2 oldest girls are TWINS, and have their own channel, Brooklyn & Bailey, and my two girls are equally excited each week when they share a new video on Wednesdays. I LOVE how wholesome it is, and that I know it will be lighthearted fun for my girls to watch. Â The Chubby Bunny Challenge and the Gross-out Jelly Bean Challenge are among favorites. Click on the image below to go to their channel.
{This is their old logo from 2014 when I originally wrote this blog post}
Their daughters KamriNoel and RylanOliviaMcKnight also share content on YouTube and Instagram.
Now, back to the family pictures. I loved their fun and bright colors, and coordination.
Family Picture Poses
Here are the main shots I like to take:
- Family hug posed
- Family spread out
- Just the kids
- Each child individually
- Mom and dad posed
- Mom and dad playful
- Family Walking
- Family Laughing
- Individual fun (if time and light permits)
And mom and dad need some, too. Â I’ve found that in photographing families, some couples haven’t had professional pictures of the two of them since their wedding. We just can’t have that…
I took so many fun images of each child, this is just a snippet
I got some gymnastics out of some of them, too…
There were way too many pictures, this is just a sampling.
As it was getting dark, we were packing up, and I snapped a few with my daughter and the cute twins, whom she admires so much, and one of both my girls and their kids, my youngest had a fun time with their youngest.
My girls assisted with helping me get them to smile, and snapped a picture of me taking pictures. That’s always fun…After our photo session, the adults went to dinner while the kids stayed behind to play, my girls had so much fun, and I enjoyed chatting all about families, friends, our shared faith, adoption, the You Tube world, blogging, etc. etc.
This family was such a delight! Don’t forget to check out their You Tube channels and subscribe so you can get their goodness, too! Click on their banner above.
*****Images on this site are the property of Kristen Duke. Please do not use more than one image unless you have permission. One image may be shared with a link back to this post.
Do you have a fancy camera that you don’t know how to use? Check out my photography books. Â {CLICK HEREÂ for information on my Beginner and Intermediate photography e-books, printed book, or online video workshop}
Want to see more tips on taking Family Pictures? Click on the links below the images.
Family Picture Outfit Ideas//Creative Family Pictures Ideas
Cooperative Kids//Take your Own Pictures//What Camera to Buy