What to expect during your photo session

I started a new blog series this year titled “What goes into your session?” which is geared towards my family and portrait clients but is still useful to wedding clients as well!  If you missed Part 1 please click below to read it:

Part 1:  Why Custom Photography?

On the day of your photo session I arrive a few minutes early to take a walk around the selected location and see where the lighting is best and where I see us going during the session.  This is not set in stone and I will just go with the flow of how our session takes shape.  I will take a few minutes before we start photographing to talk to you and your children to get to know you all better and make everyone (including me!) feel comfortable.  I will have you walk and talk with each other, most of the time not even looking at me or my camera.  I know for most people it’s hard to be in front of the camera (I know it is for me!) so I want you to be as relaxed as possible.  If I feel that I need to give you and your family or fiance more direction I will.  Usually for couples, engagement sessions and weddings I do give more direction to the couple because, well, you will listen to me and stay in one spot for more than 1 second- ha!  Where as with kids they just love to run around and be silly, fun and well, act like kids.  I LOVE both family sessions and couple sessions for these 2 reasons and that is why I will never be just a wedding photographer or just a family photographer.  It must be the Gemini in me!  I love that kids have no inhibitions about themselves while in front of my camera and I love that I can have more control with a couple to set up a shot that I can see forming in my head.

I may ask you to sit, stand, lay down on the ground, jump in leaves, take your shoes off and have fun in areas that have great lighting and that I know will make for beautiful images.  I always tell my clients that if I ask you to do something that makes you feel uncomfortable to please just say so and we will do something else instead.  There is no need to have you sit on the ground if you are 7 months pregnant and have a hard time getting back up or walk all over town if you have a bad knee.  🙂

If anyone has been feeling a little nervous in the beginning of our session together that all just melts away and I get to take amazing images of you being exactly who you are meant to be.  You.  I will take a few more formal, everyone looking at the camera, images but I really truly want to capture who you are when you are with the ones you love.  If you have more than 1 outfit we will change it up at the midpoint of the session.  Don’t be afraid to bring a couple outfits, accessories, toys, games, blankets, a picnic, ice cream or really anything you would like to incorporate the session.  If you bring ice cream, I love mint chocolate chip – yum!

Your session will last from 1-2 hours depending on the location(s), how the kids are doing, how the parents are doing 🙂 and the lighting.  If on the day of your session it is raining we will reschedule unless the session is your home or an indoor area.

If you have any questions about this post please ask them in the comment section below so I can post the answers for everyone to read.  Thanks!