Less posing. Less perfection. More you.
If the thought of family photos makes you picture everyone standing in a line, smiling at the camera, trying to keep the kids from getting dirty...
I want to do things a little differently.
As a Minnesota family photographer,
I don't want your session to feel like an hour of trying to make everyone look perfect. Whether we're photographing your family in Elk River, Minneapolis, the Twin Cities, or somewhere else in Minnesota, I want your session to feel like your family.
You don't have to make your kids behave perfectly.
You don't have to make everyone smile.
You don't have to know how to pose.
And you definitely don't have to spend the whole session saying, "Look at the camera!"
Instead, I want to capture what it actually feels like to be together.
Family photos don't have to be perfect
The best family photographs aren't always the ones where everyone is looking at the camera.
Sometimes it's your little one reaching for your hand.
Sometimes it's siblings laughing so hard they can't stand still.
Sometimes it's the way your partner pulls you a little closer.
Sometimes it's running through the leaves, picking up sticks, getting a little dirty, or stopping for a quiet cuddle.
That's the kind of natural, lifestyle family photography I love.
I'm less interested in creating a perfect picture of your family and more interested in preserving the little pieces of your life that you might not realize you'll miss someday.
So... what do we actually do?
We play.
We walk.
We explore.
We cuddle.
We laugh.
We move.
I'll give you direction when you need it, but I'm not going to spend your family photography session posing you into one position after another.
Sometimes I'll ask you to look at each other. Sometimes I'll have you walk together. Sometimes I'll get everyone moving.
And sometimes I'll simply let something happen.
Because those in-between moments are often my favorite.
Think lifestyle photography with a little direction.
You won't be left wondering what you're supposed to do, but you also won't spend the entire session performing for the camera.
My goal is to create candid family photos that still feel intentional and beautiful—photographs that look like you, rather than photographs of you trying to look like someone else.
What if my kids won't cooperate?
Good.
Okay, maybe not too good. 😂
But seriously- your kids don't have to be perfectly cooperative for us to make beautiful photographs.
If they need to run, we'll run.
If they need a break, we'll take one.
If they're silly, we'll let them be silly.
If they're having a particularly three-year-old moment... we'll work with it.
Some of my favorite family photographs have come from the moments that weren't planned at all.
What if everyone isn't smiling?
That's okay, too.
I don't need everyone smiling at the same time.
I want your photographs to remind you of how it felt to be together, not just prove that everyone successfully smiled for a picture.
Years from now, I want you to remember the way your daughter used to tuck herself into your side.
The way your son used to hold your hand.
The way your kids laughed when Dad chased them through the leaves.
The little expressions you didn't even notice at the time.
Those are the things that disappear as childhood moves along.
Those are the things I want to photograph.
You don't need to know how to pose.
That's my job.
I'll give you enough direction that you never have to wonder, "What are we supposed to do?"
But I don't want to turn your family into a series of poses.
I want to create enough space for you to actually interact with each other.
Think of me less as someone asking you to pose...
and more as someone quietly stepping into your world with a camera.
What should we wear for family photos?
You don't need perfectly coordinated outfits.
I love clothing that feels comfortable, layered and like you—especially when we're creating outdoor family photographs in Minnesota.
Think texture, movement and colors that work naturally with the season and location rather than everyone wearing the exact same thing.
And if your child wants to wear something slightly unexpected?
Let them.
Those little details are part of who they are right now.
What if we're nervous in front of the camera?
That's completely normal.
Most families aren't professional models- and I don't expect you to be.
You don't have to know how to pose for family pictures. I'll guide you through the session and give you prompts that create genuine interaction rather than asking you to hold a perfect pose.
My goal is for you to eventually forget the camera is even there.
Where do family sessions take place?
That's part of the fun.
I photograph families throughout Minnesota, so your session doesn't have to happen in a studio or even in your hometown.
We can find a location that fits your family and the feeling you want your photographs to have-whether that's a quiet field, a wooded trail, a favorite park, your own backyard, or somewhere that already holds meaning for your family. Some of my favorite family sessions are inside your home, where you're all cozied up & we can capture your natural life.
I'm based in Elk River, and I photograph families throughout the surrounding area, the Twin Cities and beyond.
The location matters.
But you matter more.
Come as you are.
Wear the clothes that feel like you.
Bring the blanket your kids love.
Let them bring their favorite little treasures.
Don't stress if someone's hair gets messy.
Don't panic if your toddler gets dirt on their clothes.
And please don't spend the entire week before your session trying to make your children perfect.
They're only this age once.
I want to remember them as they really were.
A little messy.
A little wild.
A little silly.
And completely yours.
That's what I want your photographs to feel like.
Not perfect.
Real.
Not posed.
Connected.
Not just what your family looked like...
but what it felt like to be together.
Family Photography Throughout Minnesota
Hazehouse Photo offers natural, nostalgic family photography in Elk River, the Twin Cities and throughout Minnesota, with sessions designed around connection, movement and the little moments that make your family yours.
If you're looking for family photographs that feel less like a photoshoot and more like a memory, I'd love to hear about your family.
Let's make photographs that feel like you.
until I see you & yours, xo Rainy
