One of the biggest barriers that prevents us from capturing genuine moments and emotions is the parents themselves. Isn’t that ironic? The ones who want so badly to capture these moments of joy and spontaneity often are the ones who smother it out by trying too hard to control their families. Many times, too much control, too many rules, and too many times saying “no” can actually become overbearing and deflate children’s sense of joy, adventure, spontaneity, and excitement. As parents, it is your job to model the emotions you want your kids to feel during the photo shoot. If you’re nervous, your kids will feel nervous. If you’re restricting them too much, they won't have any fun. We want photo sessions to be a joyful, positive experience and a fun time each year, not a chore that is a relief when it’s over. So how does this work then? You might be saying, “Dan and Tyler, you don’t understand, my kids are CRAZY and if I let them off the leash we won’t get any cute photos!”. We totally understand that! We still want them to be self controlled, but we want to caution you as parents not to be too overbearing and discouraging to them. Like everything in life, there is a delicate balance between gentle, positive correction and reproof stemming from frustration. Overall, the best, most genuine images that you will love come from a positive, fun, light hearted, sunny disposition during photo shoots.