Is shooting other people easier than shooting your own family?

Maybe this is an odd question, but just humor me. I've been wondering lately if some of my roadblocks with composition and lighting are due to the fact that I just don't pose my family or give them any direction at all when I'm taking pictures.

If my kids happen to run into a space with some nice lighting and a shot presents itself, I take it. If not, well, I just stand there with my camera in hand waiting for the moment. I don't want to infringe on their enjoyment of whatever activity they're engaged in. I am really trying to improve, but I'm beginning to think that accidentally well composed and exposed shots are just not as common as they seem.

I see a lot of fabulously composed shots where the photographer was in charge of placing the subject in the pose and in the right light and I think it must be easier to take better shots when the subject is paying attention to only you and is devoting time to actually having his or her picture taken (and in the case of young children, not seeing you as mommy).

Do you find it's easier to take pictures of strangers or people who aren't your own children/spouse when you can interrupt them to ask them to stand in a certain spot or look a certain way and when their attention is solely focused on the fact that you're there to photograph them? Or am I just having another attack of wishful thinking?

I think it's easier to do it with family. You know them all well (usually) and you can be more bossy with them. For strangers you have to be more polite, and careful with how you guide them.

I guess the question is ARE you bossy with them, though? When I take the kids to the park or the zoo or the museum, I want them to enjoy themselves. I don't want them to spend all of their time sitting in the right light and holding reflectors and posing and taking 2 steps this way or 3 steps that way. I want them to just run and be kids.

If I take them to a park to have their pictures taken by a photographer who is being paid for his or her time, then naturally that is all they will be focused on. Maybe I just need to designate photo time separate from regular family time.

its definetly easier with strangers...that is of course, if your family is anything like mine! Mine wont give me ANY praise at all, its like they NEED to keep me down. My brother and SIL will sit there and tell me what a photographic genius threre kids girlfriend is and then act surprised I even own a camera..lol my mom is the only one, well, my sister too, who will say they like my work. family can be the hardest ones to shoot because they think they can or have the right to treat you like crap!

I think strangers (or at least non-family members) are easier. They treat you like a professional and will actually listen to you. My family members tend to think they know better (on everything)!

Oh well, kids could be different!... i was talking adults =]

I'll direct my 4 and 6 year old boys quite a bit if I can't get 'that shot'. My 4 year old is very photogenic and loves the camera. My dad joked at his birthday party on my directorial skill. It took me off guard and then I realized that I was literally directing my sone like a model and he was responding perfectly. I never noticed it before, but he was correct. The boys are so used to my camera that they normally don't think twice about me being there. The trick is only interfering when you have to and getting out of their way quickly.

Hmm, maybe I should get the camera out next time I tell them to pick up their toys!

I do find when directing people other than immediate family is generally easier though, only because people generally respond better to the assumed authority of people outside their familial hierarchy. unfortunately, they often go too formal whereas family around you a lot will relax eventually.

Strangers will listen to you and family will not listen

My family tends to run the other way when they see me with my gear.

Andrea, I have wondered the same thing - except I haven't photographed any strangers yet. My 3yo is rarely cooperative and I completely agree that I just want to follow him around and let him do what he wants, rather than to direct him so I can get a good shot. Otherwise his life would be one endless photo shoot.

My 3 girls never stay still, not at least at the same time anyway. I tend to just mill around waiting as I want them to enjoy themselves too. I try and set aside 1/2 an hour for set shots if we go out for lunch and the rest is free time.
I am a firm believer that the best shot's I have taken are all the ones where the subject is just being natural. My friends daughter immediately smiles if someone pulls out a camera, which is great for getting a smile, not so great for capturing a natural shot of her though.