FAQ’s for Family Portrait Sessions

Scheduling a family portrait session can often times be more overwhelming than it needs to be. I believe a lot of people just keep putting off their session because maybe it’s their very first time using a professional photographer and they just aren’t sure what to expect. I don’t blame them, the unknown is always scarier than the known.

Here are a few questions that I commonly get asked and my answers to help you have a fun and exciting family portrait session.

Should You Coordinate Your Outfits?

There is something special that just brings pure joy when we look back on family portraits. Family portraits are moments that will be cherished forever, and this is why we need to make sure everything is planned ahead of time including coordinating outfits for the entire family. Whether you are taking your annual photoshoot or trying to replace the current photo you have above the mantle, you need to make sure that your family looks their best.

There are many things to consider and keep in mind when coordinating outfits for family photos. This process may seem overwhelming at first, but it shouldn’t be very difficult. Start by focusing on outfits that will allow your photo to have a timeless feel. For example, Spring or Fall photos are recommended because those two seasons are more nuetral and as opposed to photos on the beach or decked out in winter coats. We have come up with this tips to help you coordinate your family photo shoot outfit:

Coordinating Colors Not Matching

Your outfits should have colors that coordinate well, however every family member doesn’t have to wear the same outfit. Although families represent a bond, each family is made up of individual family members. It’s important to be cohesive while also letting everyone share a bit of their personality through the photos. The last thing you want your family photos to portray is that you all are twins or almost robot looking. You can achieve a more natural look across the board by choosing two primary colors and then adding a simple tone to complete your color scheme.

For example, for the Fall family photoshoot, I would recommend blue jeans, a burnt orange color and some olive green. Or maybe you want to do khakis and a pop of red plaid.

Look At Your Home Decor

If you plan on hanging the photos in your house make sure that the color of the clothes you wear in your shoots go well with the color scheme of your home. If you want to add color to your home maybe coordinate more pops of color in your outfits. If you want to match the neutral shades of your home than choose more subtle colors.

Think About Accessories

Accessories and the small details in the outfit will make your photo look so much more fun. So, when coordinating accessories, you can have the kids play with hats or necklaces and have the father wearing a scarf or tie.

How Often Should We Do A Family Photoshoot?

Having a family portrait session is often on everyone’s mind but gets left off the to-do list often. We always want to take the time and money to get our family all in the same shot, dressed nicely, everyone smiling for the camera, but we also come up with excuses. “My kids are too wild; they’d never sit still for a picture.” “We can do it next year, no harm in skipping it again this year.” “My kids haven’t changed that much.” “I’d love to have them, but it’s too complicated to find a time, schedule and locate a photographer.”

So, the answer to this commonly asked question is – as often as you’d like. There is no rule of the socially prescribed norm for how often you should engage your family photographer. However, there are basic thoughts to be taken into consideration concerning this; for instance, you need to

1.  Take Into Account Things Like The Age Of Your Kids.

They are only this age now. Soon they will be grown up or perhaps unwilling to have their photo taken. Taking family photos at several different developmental milestones throughout each child’s life are quite recommendable, such as the newborn stage,  pre-school years, grade school and of course at the attainment of teenage years and maturity. This allows you to reminisce at your family’s development over the years.

2. Take Photos For Notable Events and Seasons

For example, any first days of school, finishing school, Christmas, birthdays, family vacation, awards and presentations, weddings or even a family reunion are all great reasons to schedule a family portrait session. 

Most of these events encourage families to get together, so it’s an excellent opportunity to include everyone, especially distant relatives and close friends. This also allows the younger ones to enjoy time and memories spent with cousins, aunts and uncles and grandparents. However, the case may be, through pictures taken at such occasional gathering and events, later in the future.

3. Take The Weather Into Account

If you are still confused about how often to take a family holiday photo shoot, taking a family photograph during different seasons is pretty cool. Winter photos are vastly different from Summer photos. Autumn is my personal favorite because it’s a great chance to catch some colourful images like the leaves changing and include the beautiful landscape in the photos.

4. Time Doesn’t Repeat Itself, So The Best Time Is Now

Take random family portrait sessions during unexpected moments to capture precious memories.

In all, there is no limitation as to how often to take a family photo. Every one to two years would be a fantastic record of your family’s growth. It does not need to be an expensive exercise, and a good family photographer can guide you well.

What Do I Need To Know Before Booking a Photoshoot?

 

The million dollar question. It can be a tiring process, booking a photo shoot. There are a lot of things to be considered when thinking of booking family photos. This article is meant to help you with the right questions to ask before booking a photo shoot. You have to have answered some of these questions yourself before diving into the whole thing. The first thing you should look at is:

1. Your Budget.

How much you are planning to spend on this is going to determine who you choose to shoot with. Fact is, you probably have no idea how much you’d like to spend – which is understandable. It is hard to know how much a photographer will cost. What you should do is find a photographer whose work you truly enjoy and ask how much they will cost. Then, from there, think of how far you would be willing to go to pay for quality.

2. Imagery

What kind of imagery do you want? All that matters is your satisfaction with the style of imagery the photographer uses. If they show you a series of photos, and you like their style, then go for them, even if it means you have to spend more. Quality, not quantity, remember? Also, find someone whose images connect with you. It is a bad idea to invest your money into images that you won’t end up liking.

3. Purpose

What is the purpose of your family portrait session? Family holiday photoshoot? Christmas photo shoot? Most photographers have a photo shoot they do best. It’s the specific field where their creativity pops out. Choose a photographer who you think will get the moment exactly right before you book them.

4. Time-frame

How long will it take them to get everything done and sent to you? Every photographer has their different workflow. What might take someone a day to finish, might take another a month or two to finish because they have different projects to finish. Before booking a photo shoot, find out how fast they can get your pictures back to you if you need them by a certain day.

5. Studio or Location

Find out which is more comfortable with the photographer. However, it depends on the one you’d like to go for. If you want a home studio, and your photographer doesn’t have space, it might probably cost more if you’re hell-bent on a home studio photoshoot.

Top 5 Ways To Use Your Family Portraits

One of the reasons I started my photography business is because of how important portraits are to me. Often times pictures can be overlooked and underrated. You may just assume you can snap a shot on your iphone and instantly upload it to Facebook and you’re good to go. I think if used correctly, portraits can make a powerful difference in your home. 

Facebook and social media are great places to store your photos because they are automatically time stamped and easy to access no matter where you are. However, what if something were to happen to Facebook or Instagram? The same can be true for physical copies. What if something happened to a physical copy of a photo? Either way I suggest having multiple copies of photos stored in various locations just in case.

The message behind this post, isn’t to make sure you never have to leave your photos behind, but more so, to inspire you to use your new family portraits in a way you may never have thought of. Here are five great ways to get the most out of your family portraits.

Blow It Up

If you have a great family photo, why not get the most out of it by blowing it up. Bigger is always better, right? Okay this may not necessarily be the case, but if done right, a blown up picture makes a great statement in your home.

Most people get their photos printed to put in a 5×7 frame, but I think there is something so great about going above and beyond and blowing the photo up. Artwork, and mirrors are very popular when it comes to filling up blank spaces, but you can only have so many mirrors, and why not use your family portraits as a piece of art?

I recommend hanging the picture on a giant wall either in your family room or your living room. I believe that what often times makes a house feel like a home is when there are family photos. A home becomes a home when there are memories spent there with loved ones.

If you know ahead of time that you are going to blow up this family photo, I would pay special attention to the clothing that you choose to wear for that photoshoot. Make sure that the color scheme of your outfits also coordinate with the color scheme of your home decor. For example, you most likely wouldn’t want to blow up a holiday family portrait because red sweaters and fuzzy coats may not look the best hanging on your wall in the middle of June.

Photo Album or Book

If you wanted to keep your family portraits more private and personal to you, a photo album or printed book is a perfect alternative. Photo albums have been around for a very long time and I believe they aren’t going anywhere. Even with the popularity of Facebook, having all of your photos kept in one special spot and decorating it if you choose to do so, is irreplaceable.  

I remember how much I valued the photo albums that were created for me during my childhood and since then I have tried to carry on the tradition.

I feel as though decorating and creating photo albums is definitely becoming more of a past time, and simply because they are time consuming. Picking out the background paper, cutting the pictures, adding labels or stickers and all of the additional things you can do to it takes a lot of effort.

It’s definitely much easier to simply click the upload button on Facebook, but the thought and personalized touch that goes behind creating a photo album speaks volumes. If you just simply aren’t impressed with your decorating or crafting abilities, there are multiple other ways you can create a book or photo album without touching a pair of scissors or tape.

Companies like Shutterfly have made your lives as easy as possible. All you have to do is still click that upload button but instead your photos are printed into a photo album type book. This alternative gives you the best of both worlds.

Wall Decor Photo Collage

A photo collage is a great way to display your family portrait collection. A photo collage is a great way to get representation from multiple family members. If you have a large family or extended family and it’s important for you to include everyone then this photo collage will be your best bet.

A photo collage takes a little bit more effort in terms of design, and picture frame hanging, so make sure you are up for a little bit of a challenge. If you know that you are interested in a photo collage, but aren’t sure where you should begin, I recommend heading to Pinterest and finding inspiration.

Are you going for the random but organized look or do you want all of the your frames lined up symmetrically? Do you want to have all matching frames or do you want to have all different kinds of frames? Do you want to have all of the same size photos or a variety?

And maybe you have no idea the answers to any of these questions, but once you check out Pinterest and find your inspiration, that should clear up any of your uncertainty.

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Picture Frames

If you’re more of the traditional type, then stick to your guns and go that route. Print your 5×7 photos and frame them, however make sure these photos are high quality and strong family portraits. If these photos are going to be displayed, they should be the best of the best photos.

If you don’t think that you have any high quality photos, I encourage you to contact me to schedule a photoshoot. High quality photos are irreplaceable and they capture a moment in time that could otherwise be easily forgotten.

Holiday Cards

Tis the season! Family portraits aren’t just for home decor, but for sharing the holidays with your friends and family. A Christmas card is one of the best ways to wish everyone close to you a happy holiday and keep in touch with people you may have lost regular connection with.

Christmas cards are fun to receive every year and see how much certain families have grown and changed over just one year. A Christmas card is another great way to timestamp moments.

The Benefits of Holiday Family Photoshoot

Some people say memories made with your family are the very core of a person’s being. I share this belief. See, a person’s family is what shapes a person into who they will become. It’s the time spent with them that fine-tunes an individual. And what better way is there to make these memories and moments than to go for a holiday family photoshoot.

Although said lightly, this idea has over the years been a highlight for a lot of families. Family holidays are breaks from our everyday busy lives. They are reliefs to the human soul, body, and mind. For children, these family holidays make some of the “fondest childhood memories”. The excitement, the love, the experience and the getting to know each other better are just some of the small benefits.

Below are a few reasons why you should consider booking a family photoshoot for the holidays.

1. Create Memories

This is usually the number one reason people will book a family holiday photoshoot. You create moments and memories that bring you closer. Such memories that once the holiday is over, and you’re back to your everyday hectic life, you can go back to those moments by checking on those photos. In the wider sense, memories can transport us back to that time of feeling; the smell, the touch and sound, and ultimately put us back in that time of life. Especially having children who grow up so quickly, it’s important to capture those memories together.

One of my favorite parts of a family photoshoot is seeing families reunite with their family members who may live out of state or went away to college. Everyone comes together, leaving all their work and worries to focus on this holiday. Happiness radiates around this point in time. If you’re with them, you get to see beautiful sceneries, like say, you were in Cincinnati, Ohio.

2. Relaxation

The benefit of a family photoshoot, unlike when you’re with your friends, you don’t need to put up appearances. Since they’re family, I’m assuming you all know each other well enough; the journey, struggles and joy that have been met, passed through, and experienced. I’ll tell you this. There is something about being understood and accepted. It does something to you. It provides you with comfort and acceptance.

I love being able to capture the different personalities and relationships among family members.

3. Nurturing Family Relationships

Going on a family holiday photo shoot allows you and your family to build and grow your relationships. Sure there is social media now. You could use FaceTime, but nothing beats being with your family in the car, at the photo shoot location talking, sharing stories, and recalling family moments. These moments are to die for. The laughter that comes from remembering something ridiculous that your mom, your dad or your child did at a certain point in time.

4. Knowledge Will Be Gained

Spending time with your family means everyone gets to learn more about each other. You get to catch up and discover new things about each other. It creates a feeling of understanding, connection and, belonging.

Where Can I Use These Photos?

The question remains, where is the best possible place to put the photos you took on your holiday family photoshoot. Where would be the perfect place where everyone would be continuously reminded of the moments you’ve shared together. There are many places a person can place pictures in a home. It’s endless really. But I’ll only be talking about a few below.

1.  Living Room

The living room is the primary place in a house. Do you get the point? It’s where your visitors sit while they wait for you. It’s where you and your friends talk about the stress of work or the latest gossip in town. It is where your family photos should be. Stick them on the walls. Just a few will lighten up your living room. They would also make the atmosphere more intimate and the room cozier. I recommend using a sleek wall shelf and placing them asymmetrically, at different heights.

2. Kitchen Gallery

Family photos shouldn’t be limited to just your living room alone. Think of it. Why not put reminders of the moments you’ve had with your loved ones in the kitchen as well?

If you still enjoy having some decor on your refrigerator, there you go! Everytime you go to grab a bite to eat you can be reminded of how thankful you were to get to spend that quality time with your family members.

3. Dining Room

How about the dining room? Place some photos on the wall adjacent to the dining table. That would turn the atmosphere into an intimate one when the family is all gathered around to have dinner.

4. Facebook

Facebook is also an excellent place to keep your memories. It is one of those places where you get to keep your memories for as long as you possibly can. Sometimes myself, I still go to my Facebook page and look through my photos. It reminds me of what has been, the emotions at the time, the sound, the touch etc. Putting these photos on Facebook also lets your friends and family have an idea of what you and your family have been up to – the fun and experiences everyone had.

5. Christmas Card

Another way of saving your memories is to put them in Christmas cards. Say you wanted to send a Christmas gift to your grandparents, or a family member who has been asking of your own family. Send them a Christmas card with your family photo in it. Seeing that will make them happy. Christmas cards have been a tradition for a very long time and I really hope it doesn’t go anywhere. I personally, love receiving Christmas cards from friends and family.