Raise your hand if you're the type of person to have your session booked well in advance, six months a head of time.  You have your outfits picked out, location scouted, and you're emailing the photographer on a weekly basis with mood boards and pose inspo.  

Now, raise your hand if you are the exact opposite.  The leaves are changing color on the trees and you realize you haven't done family photos since your oldest was in kinder and you have one candid when you were pregnant with your second.  You don't know who is the latest and greatest behind the camera, nor do you really care, you know you just need to find someone with availability this weekend between noon and 5 and you can scrounge up something to wear out of everyone's closet as long as the weather doesn't turn overnight.  

What about if you're the one who constantly knows they need to get it done and just can't quite make the commitment.  

Anyone else? I know I could go on.

Would you like to know - I've been ALL of these types of clients?

Would you also like to know - I have worked with ALL of these clients?  From the ultra prepared posh to the last minute chaos and fun.  And I love them all.

Moreover, I give all of them the session they need, the one they want, and the one they can handle.  Our capacity at any given time for any given event is different day to day.  Your family session should not be something that pulls from your energy stores... but that adds to it.

No matter what kind of client you happen to be that day,

I have the session you're going to LOVE and a photo gallery you're not going to get enough of.

Your session starts WAY before the first click of the shutter.  I'm here to help you with your outfit, your location scouting, your mood boards, and your last minute ideas.  I'm here for all of it!

If you don't need me until the day before because you have it all taken care of. Okay, I'll see you then.  

If you need a bit more help with the planning, preparation, and pep talks that your kids are going to be fine and you're going to look fabulous in that dress - I'll talk to you every Tuesday until your session.  

No matter what you need from me, you're going to get it. 

Here is your photo session beginning to end, and some of the ways I can help you make it your BEST SESSION YET.

Somehow you've come across my website and I know this gets said all of the time but... I'M SO GLAD YOU DID.  Being found and seen as a small business owner is one of the hardest parts of the gig.  

Also, I'm a big believer in fate - because for one reason or another our paths were meant to cross.  

Just like your hair girl, your nail girl, your therapist, or your mechanic - it isn't always a given that the first person you meet for the service you need is your match.  You need to make sure you LOVE what you see when it comes to who I am as a business owner and my portfolio I produce.  Your best family session isn't going to happen if you don't love what you see and feel before, during, or after the click of the camera.  

A quick call as a consultation and a peruse around my website should definitely take care of that.  

To create the images that make you feel the real stuff - I work with a lot of clients are fun, easy going, up for anything, and not into the posey-posed kind of photos.  I'm creating joyful moments, close connection, laughs that scrunch the top of your nose, and smiles that reach the corners of the eyes.

I want to see the type of silliness that makes you throw back your head and laugh to the sky, dance with your toddler in the sprinkling rain, chase your son through the flowers, and allow yourself to be captured by in the moment movement and spontaneity.

We're telling your family's story here.  From the content and quiet to the loud and living type of moments - A lot the best photos are when I suggest an idea and my client takes off with it in their own natural kind of way - however that looks.

Once we've decided we are going to be your Family Session A-Team leaders and you're going to let me into peek inside your heart and home in this small (but really intimate) kind of way, we are headed straight into details.  

• Contract and Session Fee - this is gonna secure your time with me exclusively.
• When - what's the occasion or the season you want to be in for this special moment?
• Where - What is your backdrop? In your home, in a field, by the water, a day in the life, quick road trip to your favorite spot to just be with one another.
• Time of Day - are you morning people or sunset people? 
• Outfits - cas. and comfy or a little dolled up for the occasion?

Listen, these are just some of the very general ideas of a session.  Some people like to answer them all right away and some like to think about it as the date creeps closer. 

We don't need all the answers right away, but somethings to keep in mind is

• permits. We can wait until the week of your session to decide a lot of these details.   But Permits and Reservations require a lot of advanced notice in our area.  If you want your session in a certain location that requires permits - that is the priority decision ASAP.  Even though we know weather and toddler 'tudes are always going to make the decisions for us no matter how much we plan ahead. 
• contract.  I know answering everything in the contract is going to feel a bit tedious - BUT everything in that contract is designed to help me get to know you and your family, your vision, your ideals, and how you want the session to look and feel.  Please fill out it to the best of your ability.  <3

We've finally arrived to the day. 

• Contract signed
• Invoice paid
• Outfits designed
• Headed to the location
• Toddler in full meltdown
• Rain is threatening and its a good 10* cooler (or hotter) than hoped
• and at least one bicker between the adults because Saturday is normally a lazy morning and you've probably forgotten to eat or something.  

Note to your self, that's all pretty normal, AND it has nothing to do with you... its mostly nerves whether in anticipation or irritation - this is exactly how it goes most of the time.

Take a deep breath.  We're all going to make it through and my goal is that we are not only going to make it through the session but we are definitely going to have a lot of fun and every one is going to leave the session with their cup full of happiness, a little tired, hungry, and ready to end the day on a really good note and a good sleep excited to see the final gallery in a couple weeks.

Sometimes there is a little bit of anxiousness from not knowing what to do once the session starts.  

• Where do I put my hands?
• Don't think I'm supposed to look at the camera anymore.
• What if I blinked and my eyes are closed? 
• The kids are not listening.  
• These shoes are uncomfortable, this dress is probably too tight.
• I should be watching "the game" right now.
• etc etc etc.  

These are all valid.  We don't normally do photo sessions all the time so its really out of the comfort zone and routine for most people.  And that is okay.  

I strive to make my sessions feel as natural as possible.  So you stay in the moment and present enjoying time with your family while I am documenting it.  So the fact that the game is on is okay because this moment is better.  If your shoes are uncomfortable, lets take them off.  The kids can lead the session - what can we do to make them feel really loved and seen right now so that they aren't being stinky because they are being asked to stand still and pose quietly?  

Life isn't about being still and quiet is it?  Its about running around, laughing, snuggling up, and tickles.  

However your family engages... that is what I want to see, that is what my camera wants to capture, that is what is going to make you all feel most at ease and carefree.  

You may still have some reservations - and that is okay, I do too when I'm put on the spot (Introverts Club Member since 1987).  But have no fear, I'm right here with you every step of the way.  I come armed with games, distractions, and fun "prompts" that help push you through the hesitation of being in front of a camera and guide you into your element of fun engagement that creates the type of moments you WANT to remember, you want in your albums, and on your walls.  The moments that will be pulled out every major holiday when your grandkids come to visit and you can show them who they come from.   

And by the way, those "prompts" are totally a starting point to jump from.  I give you a little something to do and you have free reign to take it where ever your family wants to take it - however it feels most natural for you. 

Here's a quick couple of reminders, but we can go way more in detail if you need:

1. We are catching moments.  This takes engagement and honest connection.  Think of little things you do together that make your moments together real, raw, emotional - think of things that make you present and unworried or unhurried.  
1. If all else fails, just keep engaging and moving your hands and gaze.  
2. Don't do anything that isn't authentic to you and yours.
3. Think of this as a movie or video shoot rather than a photo shoot.  We need movement.  Movement creates variety.  We love variety. 
4. I'll give you a direction and you can run with it.  Don't stop after you "finish the task that Sam said to do".  Keep going with it, keep flowing, keep it real and natural. 
5. If I'm quiet and just snapping away, that is okay - it means you're doing good and I am just capturing everything I see and can find. I'll let you know when we need to move on to something new.  Sometimes that just happens on its own too!  and I'll just keep going.

The Gallery Has Arrived! 

Its sweet and simple friends, you know what to do from here.  You peruse your gallery and gush and ooo and awe and become obsessed and re-live the moments.  Suddenly forgetting if it was difficult that morning or what the bickering was about or who irritated who.  And you plan out which photos you're going to send out to family and which you're going to frame and where.  

And that is the cherry on top.  

Meanwhile, I sit back and hope you love them as much as you do but also feel all of the gratitude for being able to deliver another gallery to another beautiful family that let me in and let me be apart of their story for this moment in their history.  WOW. 

Even if we never see each other again, you probably will not remember the photographer behind the camera - but you will absolutely remember how I made you feel.  If I can make you excited to plan your family session every single year, instead of making it feel like a chore you procrastinate, I did what I set out to do and we all win. 

What is in your gallery depends on the type of session you booked to begin with. 

• A Full Session includes the entire gallery of finalized images and a gift from me: An Album or a piece of Wall Art
• A Half Session or smaller offers an outlined number of images of your choosing, usually a gift print of your favorite image, and the option to choose more or all of the rest of the digital gallery.   
• No matter which session you choose you will always have the option to purchase wall art, albums, and prints for yourself or as gifts.  

I'll preach to the last bullet point until my last breath... after all this effort, time, and financial investment your gallery deserves to live outside your phone or computer hard drive.  Go print them, go gift them, memorialize them in a way you can re-live them over and over again.

Just like that perfect Hair Girl that cuts the locks just right, or the Nail Girl that never messes it up... I'm willing to be your Photo Girl for every season.  

• Want a session of your family every year?  Half Family Session
• Want a "Grow With Me" option for your youngest and last baby? Grow With Me Milestones
• Is your oldest baby having a fantastic micro wedding or elopement near or far?  Wedding Portfolio
• Have a random family gathering or a milestone that needs to be memorialized?  Full Family Session
• Want a "school picture day" vibe but in your own home with way more personality?   Kids Personality Portraits

Need ideas?  It doesn't always have to look the same.  The style of session can change by the year as well.  

• A new season every year
• A new location 
• A favorite local attraction 
• An In-Home for cozy vibes
• The place where your family spends every Sunday afternoon: Library, park, restaurant. 
• Your family's favorite holiday tradition or activity
• Family vacation you NEED to have documented (you don't have to ask me twice to travel with you).
• Day in the Life

If you need to want to be in the know, have first dibs, or not have to think about the money parts of it all: 

• Subscription/Membership style payments can be arranged
• Limited scholarships offered quarterly
• Stay on my email list to be up to date to on all things 

Obviously, this process is nuanced.  Your family may have travel involved, you may have this wild idea you want to bring to life, or you don't know at all what you want but you need to find the right person to help you. 

Bottom line, if you need a photographer, I'd love to help make your session ideas come to life.  I would adore to be apart of the process, helping you create memories that last, laughs that you can hear in the still frames, and story telling albums that live on for generations.  

Have any questions? Got any ideas?  Need any help?  Want to chat?

Let's Chat.

In the comments tell me what you absolutely love having as part of your session and maybe some of your experiences you haven't enjoyed so much...