In Part 1, we prepped. In Part 2, we got the ball rolling. This episode is all about how to open your dang eyeballs, guide with your heart, and sink into a session that is less pose and more honest family gold. If you often leave sessions feeling like you checked the boxes but you never really GOT anywhere emotional, this is your next-level.

I originally learned the concept of "elements of family story" from Brooke Schultz, and Story Filters are my evolution of that over the last 5 years. They're themes you carry into a session like a scavenger hunt — lenses for seeing what's actually in front of you rather than hunting for your next pose. I'm sharing what they are, how they work in practice, and a two-step process for developing your own. It's the thing that made the difference between galleries that are fine and work that actually means something.

Find It Quickly: 1:49 - Introducing Story Filters (your personal in-shoot scavenger hunt) 3:37 - Story filter examples 5:06 - Filters in action: how they change the way you see and direct 7:52 - Why filters matter: seeing people not subjects 9:28 - Direction vs. documentary: finding the middle ground 10:51 - How to develop your own filters 14:09 - Series recap + next episode preview 15:03 - How to get the Field Guide for all these tips in writing to reference for your next shoot

Mentioned in this Episode: In-Home Session Field Guide (free): leahoconnell.com/home-fieldguide Episode 72: Part 1 — The Walkthrough Video: https://leahoconnell.com/guide-to-in-home-family-photography-sessions-part-1-the-walkthrough-video/ https://leahoconnell.com/guide-to-in-home-family-photography-sessions-part-1-the-walkthrough-video/ Episode 73: Part 2 — The First 10 Minutes: https://leahoconnell.com/in-home-family-photography-series-part-2-the-first-10-minutes/

Also listen to: Episode 59 with Brooke Schultz: https://leahoconnell.com/episode-59-messy-action-the-artful-pivot-and-creating-from-the-inside-out-with-brooke-schultz/