Yay!!!
You've just booked your family session!!! Our goal is for you to have a relaxing and fun experience while we create you some EPIC family portraits :)
we do about 200 family sessions a year and the dynamic between families is always very different, but I've found there are a few blanket things to keep in mind when preparing for your session that help every session run smoothly.
This is a time to have fun!
Yes, sometimes we have to wrangle the littles to make that one perfect family portrait, which is a huge priority! But more than that, I try to capture who you are, not just what you look like this year. So a lot of times what that means is letting the kids run around. (It's often as a reward for standing still for a couple minutes) Because that's when I get the smiles that come from real laughs. A lot of great action shots come from this too :)
1. Outfits : Honestly, because you know you better than I do, you are the best judge of your outfits. The BEST advice I can give about outfit selection would be to try to coordinate instead of matching. Try to stay away from really tiny patterns, they won’t show up in your images. Also, bold jewelry, scarves, and colored shoes photograph really well, if your into that sort of thing ;) Just do you and get comfortable!
2. Relax & Be You : I work with normal, everyday people all the time, so by no stretch of the imagination do I expect you to be a pro :) I hardly ever work with models. I love capturing authentic moments, which honestly sometime are ridiculous and that's ok :)
I find the best time to do the "Christmas Card" posed portrait is at the very beginning of the shoot when the kids are trying to figure out who this guy with the camera is and they tend to be a little more open to direction. After that and the family groupings though, I like to spend some time getting the candids :)
3. No couple is safe : I've noticed when doing family portraits that often times, the last time mom and dad had pictures made of themselves, was at their wedding!!! that may have been a few years ago, but for some it was 20, maybe 40 years ago! So you be sure that I intend to take the two of you aside for some pictures alone, because you deserve it :)
Weather
We kind of say around here that" “if you don’t like the weather just wait 10 minutes.” That’s not far from the truth 😅 We generally like to schedule your session earlier in the week of your stay in the rare event that we need to reschedule. But in 8 years of doing this full time we’ve never been rained out! So we’re generally optimistic ☺️ Also, the beach can be very WINDY! It’s just par for the course at the beach. If you don’t like the windblown look you may want to adjust your hairstyle to accommodate the wind if you can.
That's pretty much it!
(I know it was so short right!?!)
If reading this inspired any questions, feel free to email or text me :)
910.264.5787
Lets have an awesome shoot!!!
