How to Capture Candids

I love a good staged photo as much as the next photographer… and mother. But sometimes, it can start to feel old. Like you’re always telling everyone to look at you and smile. To say “cheese!” And to “stay still!” Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way. Some of the best pictures I’ve taken have been the ones where everyone is being silly, or quiet, or serious, without thinking about the camera. These are the candids that really bring the moments to life.

After all, how many carousels have you seen on Instagram that show the perfectly staged portraits, and then the chaos behind the scenes. 

Well, I say bring the chaos into focus and capture those candids!

Here are my tips on how to capture candids: 

1. Don’t Stress About Looking at the Camera

Yes, I’ve gotten some great photos of kids, married couples, and pregnant mothers-to-be looking right into the camera. But I’ve also captured amazing moments of kids running around a field of flowers, parents chasing their children, pregnant women gazing into the sunset, and married couples just enjoying each other. 

All of this to say don’t stress out about looking into the camera and saying “cheese!”

2. Play

Play! A photography session can be a wonderful opportunity to let your inner child out, and to let your actual children just be themselves. Run, frolick, hold hands, snuggle, and have fun. 

You know what shows up best on camera? 

Joy.

3. Let Your Photographer Guide You

One of the hardest parts for my clients is to just relax and let me be your guide. Clients often come into a session with a set of preconceived notions of how the session is going to go, and then they can’t let go of them. If you’re paying someone to take your pictures, let them (me) do their job. Which includes helping you get the best photos possible. 

4. Explore the Space

Wherever you are — a field of flowers, the kitchen, my studio, a babbling brook — explore the space. Walk, wander, check things out. It is in these moments that we can find different lighting, different facial expressions, and different postures, all of which gives the photographer (me!) more to work with. 

Then, when you look back, you’ll remember not just the act of taking pictures, but the experience of being in this space. 

You’ll remember joy.

5. Love Each Other 

Finally, whether it’s a boudoir session, a maternity shoot, wedding photos, or senior headshots, love the one you’re with. If you’re alone, love yourself. If you’re with family, or your baby in your belly, love the one you’re with. 

Even more than joy, love shines through the camera, probably because love and joy so often go hand-in-hand. 

Don’t allow yourself to forget that you scheduled, prepared for, and paid for a photo shoot because of love. 

Let that show. 

Are you ready to book your next candid photo shoot? Contact me today and let’s get started!

Get to Know Your Photographer

It’s difficult to figure out who to hire to take photographs of  your family. It seems like photographers are a dime a dozen these days. Like anyone can just pick up a camera and start charging steep prices. And yes, photography prices are steep! At least they should be. Why? 

Think about it. Your photographer is not just spending the time to prepare for and plan your shoot, and then show up and give it her all. She’s also taking the time to develop the photographs, selecting, editing, and arranging so that the final result you see is… well, nothing short of enchanting. 

At least, that’s how it should be. 

So, a big part of choosing the right photographer is getting to know who she is. The relationship between a photographer and her subjects (that’s you!) is critical. There’s trust involved that allows you to open up and allows her to encourage you to relax, laugh, and play during your session. 

All of which means it’s important for you to feel like you really know your photographer. Which is why I’m reintroducing myself to you, my readers and clients. 

My Background

Hi! I’m Olivia Sweeney.

I was born Olivia Bauer, and I grew up here in Southern Oregon and spent time in Montana, where my father lives. As the oldest child, I spent a lot of time figuring things out, finding myself, and exploring the wide open spaces of my youth. When my siblings came along, years later, it was perhaps the first time I clicked into my natural maternal inclinations. I love mothering. I was so excited to have these little beings to take care of that I knew even back then that I would have children someday. 

As I looked forward to graduating high school, I had no doubt I would go to college. It just wasn’t an option in my family. I had to go. Still, I had no idea what I wanted to study. I was still so young! I bounced around, changing majors a few times, and finally graduated from University of Oregon in Eugene with a degree in Psychology. After college, I joined Americorp and got to do some of the most rewarding work I’ve ever done — care for underprivileged children. 

Photography 

It was during that time that I met my husband, Mike Sweeney. I was only 21 and still figuring out what I actually wanted to do with my life, when I picked up a camera professionally for the first time. You see, I had always enjoyed looking through the lens of a camera at life on the other end. My mother didn’t have photos from her childhood, so she wanted to document ours. I suppose I kind of took on that energy and found myself within it.

I started taking photos of friends and family, offering my services for free. Before long, the people who knew me best recommended I start taking photos of weddings and offering family photo sessions. My prices were super cheap because I still felt like I had no idea what I was doing, but it felt right. It felt good. 

And I knew, I just knew I was doing something I was meant to do. It felt divinely inspired. 

My Life Now

Since that time, over a decade ago, I have taken photos of dozens of weddings, and I have held engagement sessions, newborn shoots, maternity sessions, senior portrait sessions, professional headshots, and more. I have also allowed my professional work to evolve into offering more intimate sessions that include boudoir, or embodiment photography. 

I do all of this around raising and homeschooling four children with my husband, who runs his own business as a chemical engineer. We live in Sam’s Valley, in the heart of Southern Oregon, and we manage our busy household full of kittens, chickens, a dog, and of course our four kids under the age of 10 on our property all while trying to sneak in the occasional date night whenever we can. 

We feel beyond privileged to have a strong village of friends and family around us. Without the people we love, we simply would not be who we are, and we could never do what we do. 

It truly takes a village. 

Who I Am

I am, in my heart of hearts, a mother. I have mothered since I was very little. And when I look back now, I realize that my own mother and I learned to mother each other. We grew up together, and she taught me as she was learning. I am a natural nurturer and caretaker. It is what I love to do. 

This inherent part of me makes me the photographer I am. I guide my clients through sessions with ease. I have an ability to make even the most stressed out dad relax into the session and have fun. I can help mom’s enjoy the chaos that is and will always be trying to get kids to sit still and smile for the camera (hint: they don’t have to sit still and smile for the camera). 

I understand now, after all of these years, that I am good at what I do, whether it is taking care of my home, loving my husband, raising my children, or taking photos of clients, because I love it. Capturing these moments for you, whatever moments they are, is profoundly important work for me because I understand what it is to have no documentation of your life, no photos to look back on, no reminders of where you’ve been, how far you’ve come, and how hard you loved.

It may sound trite or cliche, but lifestyle photography is one of my few real callings in life. 

And now you know a little bit about why.

Now, tell me a little bit about you. Comment on this blog post to tell me about your calling, what drives you, and what you love to do. I can’t wait to hear all about it!

The Value of the Multigenerational Photo Shoot

It is always a surprise to me that more people don’t do multigenerational photo shoots! Gathering grandparents, parents, uncles and aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews, and even far extended family can have such an impact on your family relationships and your memories, I thought I’d take the time to encourage you to schedule a session today. 

Reasons to have a multigenerational photo shoot: 

1. You’ll have a professional photo of all of your family members together in one place.

2. You’ll actually get to spend time with all of the people you’ve known and grown up with. 

3. It improves the self esteem of the kids involved (It’s true! Studies show kids who see themselves in pictures with their families grow up feeling like part of a larger legacy.).

4. You’ll have fun! 

5. You’ll remember why you love each other.

It’s an experience you only get a few times in a lifetime, and for some people it only happens once. Getting everyone together can really shape the way you interact, and it will be a wonderful gift to the oldest members of your family in their twilight years. 

Consider booking your multigenerational photo shoot today.