Green Tucson Family Session | Barrett Family

One of the biggest challenges as a photographer is getting kids to smile. That’s all mom truly wants when she scheduled family photos, is just ONE photo of her babies smiling. I will say, I have a good track record on getting smiles and ensuring I have atleast one that she can hang on her walls.

Katie + Joey traveled from Nebraska with their two littles Amelia and Owen to visit family back here in Arizona where Katie is originally from. Fun fact, her and I actually went to high school together. I love seeing people that I knew way back then and catching up on how their lives have changed.

Well, Owen and Amelia were the sweetest babes, but they were giving me a run for my money on the smiles. I did get the photos I needed though! We did some dancing with Amelia, some baby shark and Encanto’s soundtrack, along with some throwing in the air with dad and was got some good ones. Owen was just so intrigued with my camera and wondering what his big sister was doing. However, we did get some cute smiles once mom and dad did some silly faces and noises.

I always call family photos a win if no kids or babies cry. I try to remind parents of that. My son (who is now 4), did not smile for a single family photo until he was probably about 3.5 for our last family photos we have. So the moral of this is to give yourself and your babies some grace. It may not go the way we want, but you have to remember at the end of the day, they’re going to grow so quickly, so any photo you have them is better than anything. Sometimes the snuggle photos are the ones moms love the most and no one is smiling.

Enjoy the rest of the Barrett families session at Agua Caliente Park in Tucson!