When is the best time to schedule family photos?

Anytime!

Take a moment and glance around your home.  Seriously.  Also, take a minute to check the photos on your phone.  What do you see?  Any family photos?  How do they look?  When was the last time you took a family photo?  Not a group selfie but a good family photo.  Looking around your home, do you have family photos hanging on the walls?  or displayed where family, friends, and kids might see?  (You might find it surprising but a lot of people don’t have photos of their family displayed in their homes)

And for many of us, it’s been quite a while since we had photos taken of our family.  

I get it.  We’re busy. 

Work.

School.

Sports.

Activities.

Friends.

We’re all being pulled in so many directions.  We can forget to capture some of those memories.  

And who wants to get dressed up?

But family photos are important.  There has been some research showing that photos in the home can help boost a child’s self-esteem and create a better sense of belonging.     I also look at it from the other side, having lost a parent last year, the photos I have with him are treasured even more. 

But family portraits do not need to be a headache or be a big time commitment or involve a ton of planning.

So how do I make this easy for you?

Options!

I have plenty of options for scheduling portrait sessions throughout the year.  Mini sessions and full sessions offer different experiences to fit the portrait needs for every family.

Mini sessions are a great for busy families who want quick updates of their photos.  Minis are only a half hour, making it a minimal time commitment (perfect for families with busy older kids) but still with plenty of images.

For new clients, I plan mini session dates once a season – winter (January or February), spring (April or May), summer (June or July), fall (November)
And for past clients, you can actually schedule a mini session at any time, not just on my scheduled mini session dates.  Just a little perk for being a loyal client.

Also Senior Parents – did you know you can add on a family photo when you plan your child’s senior portraits?  You can choose to do a quick round of family photos at the beginning or end of the session.

Full sessions are a great way to mark a significant milestone.  An anniversary, big birthday, new baby or new puppy.  Full sessions take a little more time but are still relaxed in a way that captures plenty of both posed and candid moments.  Full sessions can also be scheduled throughout the year and at just about any location.

But what about clothing?

I have lots of solutions to fit what every family needs!

Clothing can be a hassle.  Kids don’t want to get dressed up.  Dads don’t want to get dressed up.  I totally get that.

I’m going to share a secret- portraits don’t have to be fancy.  You can definitely plan a session with fancy outfits and a theme.  (While I don’t have a client closet, I’m happy to share my resources for renting gowns or sourcing other looks). 

You see, the most important part of the portrait is you and your family and we can create some beautiful portraits whatever you’re up for wearing.

So put everyone in their favorite Steeler Tee and a pair of jeans.  Or pick a family favorite color and choose different pieces of clothing in that color with jeans or even black pants, shorts, or skirts.  There are lots of ways to make this work and I’m happy to talk you through the toughest clothing challenges. 

And, keep in mind, many stores like Old Navy and Gap have started stocking clothing options that color coordinate making it even easier.

What should I expect? 

A relaxed (and hopefully) fun experience from start to finish!

As I said above, I like to keep my sessions relaxed so I try to do plenty of planning beforehand.  I love scheduling a quick phone call with new clients so I can hear about your family and your expectations and then do my best to go above and beyond those expectations. 

If a phone call doesn’t fit with your schedule, I also send out a quick questionnaire that lets me start to get to know you and hopefully helps you to start gathering ideas for what you would like to capture in this session.

All of this gets put together into a session plan that arrives in your inbox with your session details as well as tips for making the most of our time together.

At the session, I like to spend time letting younger kids get comfortable with me.  If kiddos need mom and dad close, we’ll start with some candid family shots.  If kiddos need to run and expend some energy, we’ll start with some solo shots.  I try to be very flexible and full of ideas to not only get those special photos but to also work quickly because I know the smiles can get tiring.

After the Session

After your portrait session, the next phase is editing.  It typically takes me about 2 weeks to edit galleries.  You can expect every photo to be fully retouched and polished to look its best.  I’ll remove trash cans or random people (if they’re distracting).  I’ll swap heads for the best expressions (if needed). 

And finish with a slideshow of all your final portraits set to music.

Once you receive that link to your gallery, you can download your favorites right away as well as make additional purchases.

And if you find that I missed a stray bit of drool or a cookie crumb, just let me know and I’m happy to fix that.

So, is it time to schedule your next family portrait session?

Sign up for mini sessions or email me to discuss full session scheduling options.