I don't know about you but when I go to someone's home for the first time, my eye immediately goes to their photos.

Some people carefully cull their collection of photos and display the ones where everyone is looking at the camera, hair is perfectly coiffed, clothes are coordinated, and smiles are perfect.

Others frame their favorite candid moments. The ones where no one is looking at the camera, Johnny's screaming and siblings are giggling like our failed Christmas card attempt. ©Danelle Hevron Studio

Still others, display a collection of both.

Obviously, everyone has their own taste.

Over the last several years, I've had the privilege of photographing many, many families. 

No two are the same.

I think when most people go into a family photo session, they have illusions of grandeur. We will walk into the studio, everyone's hair will have survived the car ride intact, and at the appropriate time, everyone will smile in unison as the shutter clicks.

And then I wake out of my idealist daze.

Yes, this is my personal illusion and, for the longest time, I set myself up for failure - not once, but every single time.

The photographer (and this was in the days we went to a department store) would always get at least three of the five of us in picture perfect mode but then there would be one or two who would not be so in the moment. If we did individuals, one child would be in front of the camera and two feet away, another would be sobbing she didn't like what she was wearing for the photo. When I was younger, the hot mess of the photo was usually me by the way. 

The longer the photographer would work at it, the worse it would get. Even I know when the party is over, like our failed Christmas card attempt on the far right.

Now that I have my own studio near Robinson, Illinois, I am happy to make those picture perfect images, but at the end of the day, as I'm culling through hundreds of photos, they are the last ones to grab my attention.

There is no better way to document your family history than a straight-on photo. But if you want to show who your family is and how they interact, make sure you consider throwing in a few candids. Sometimes, they show a more complete picture:)