Greetings! Here are some frequently asked questions as well as some tips + tricks for your family photos!
- 1. Where Should We Do It?
There are lots of options! Here are a few sets of pics from family shoots with some examples of location ideas. If possible, we always love shooting in peoples’ homes and adjoining yards.
If your family happens to have a lot of farm land, that’s super great!
And of course, we can always meet in public spaces: parks, trails, downtowns, etc.
2. When Should We Do It?
If we had our druthers, we’d always shoot on partly sunny days with nice clouds in the early morning or late evening right before sunset. But, that’s not how weather works nor kid-schedules! We’ve shot family sessions in every month of the year at all times of the day. So, it will work. If it’s cloudy, that’s great. If it’s just pouring rain and we’re not planning on doing it inside your home, we’ll look to the next closest possible date to re-do it. We’ll figure out with you the best time that works for your schedules, lighting, and weather that we can!
3. What Should We Wear?
We want you to feel like yourselves. So, unless you have a family tradition of matching outfits or you always match your outfits, then no need to feel like you need to do that for photos! If we’re going to be shooting outdoors, we recommend that you pick some colors that contrast the natural blues/greens/browns that will be the majority of the backdrops if that suits your style! But, mainly, we want you all to be comfortable and be able to look back on these pics in 5, 10, 20 years and say, “Hey, we looked cool and relaxed!”
4. Can We Take “Formal” Photos? What About Big Groups?
We always take “formal” group shots. Even for big groups. We always try to get several framers for extended family members that are a bit more traditional and posed while still getting lots of fun, natural, and candid moments of joy and realism.
5. What About “Newborn” Photos?
Again, we’re happy to do these and can often easily pull them off on-locations. We prefer to do just a few quick and minimal set-ups if you’re wanting more “traditional” and “posed” newborn pics while still leaving time for sweet, documentary moments.
6. Can We Include Our Pets?
Of course!
TL;DR: Be yourselves. Be relaxed. Have fun!