Beyond the trend - why looking at the camera still matters!

Why Every Family Deserves Both Candid Moments and Looking-at-the-Camera Portraits

Photography trends come and go.

Right now, there’s a strong movement in family photography towards natural, unposed moments. Families walking hand in hand. Children laughing. Parents cuddling. Everyone looking at each other instead of the camera.

And I absolutely love them.

These images are filled with emotion. They remind us of the laughter, the cuddles, the little hands reaching for yours, and the beautiful chaos that makes up family life.

They are art.

Recently, I photographed a beautiful family at sunset. Watching them play together, hearing their children laugh and seeing their connection unfold naturally was magical. That image is one I would proudly hang on my own walls because it instantly transports me back to that moment.

But then something happened that reminded me why I will never stop taking traditional family portraits too.

A few months ago, I attended my Aunty’s funeral.

While looking through old family photographs, I came across a picture I had never seen before. It was of my Dad and his sisters as children.

I stood there for what felt like forever.

I wasn’t thinking about the composition.

I wasn’t thinking about the lighting.

I wasn’t admiring it because it was artistic.

I was searching their faces.

For the first time, I saw myself.

I saw my children.

The resemblance was undeniable—the smiles, the eyes, the expressions. Suddenly, this old photograph became so much more than an image. It became a connection across generations.

It made me realise something incredibly important.

The candid photographs we create today preserve the feeling.

The portraits where everyone pauses and looks at the camera preserve the people.

One reminds you how life felt.

The other shows future generations who you were.

Imagine your great-grandchildren looking through old photographs one day.

They’ll love seeing the laughter and the connection.

But they’ll also want to know…

“What did my great-grandmother’s smile look like?”

“Do I have my grandfather’s eyes?”

“Who do I look like?”

Those questions can’t always be answered by candid photographs alone.

As photographers, we don’t have to choose one style over the other.

As parents, you don’t have to either.

Capture the running.

Capture the hugs.

Capture the wind blowing through your child’s hair.

Capture the laughter.

But also pause for just a moment.

Stand together.

Look at the camera.

Smile.

Because one day, those photographs won’t just be memories for you.

They’ll become your family’s history.

Every family deserves both.

One image preserves the feeling—the laughter, the chaos and the love of this season.

The other preserves your family’s history.

And both will become priceless. ❤️