I hear it all the time….the excuses why you’re not doing a family portrait session. Yes, I’m talking to you! The mom with kids who are growing quickly and a husband who would rather eat dirt than do a family portrait. The mom that needs to lose 20 pounds before she can even THINK about doing portraits. The mom who is busy every single day and can’t even begin to take the time to decide what everyone will wear! Yes, I’m talking to YOU!
I’m here to tell you that I can make this happen for you! I’m all about making this EASY! I want to solve all your problems! [okay, I can’t help you lose 20 pounds, but stay with me for a minute!]
Let’s dive into these three excuses and see how I can solve them:
- “My husband would rather eat dirt than do a family portrait!” Yeah, I hear you. I have one, too. But I no longer feel like I have to shoot a family for two hours to get the images they want. In fact, the session I have featured here was done in 20 minutes. Yes. 20 minutes. Not only was the dad dreading this, but I had an over tired baby so I needed to work fast. And in that 20 minutes I got more than enough for an album and a great big framed wall portrait! If you and I do the pre-planning without dear hubby, he can simply show up in the clothing you’ve selected for him. Which leads me to #2 excuse.
- “I don’t have time to plan what we’ll all wear!” This is where I think we photographers have put the pressure on clients. The truth is, things are so much more relaxed now than they were back in the matching polo shirt days of the 90’s! I also believe that we all still overthink what to wear. See this darling family here? They look great, don’t they? Well, these outfits were picked the same day as the portrait session! Although I don’t support cutting it that close, I do think that as long as the colors work well together and there isn’t a total overuse of patterns, the portraits will look great just picking out something from your closet. What makes it that much more personal is that each family member wears something that works with his or her personality. The little girl above has new pink cowboy boots. They were purchased three hours before the session. And she adores them! So much so, that she totally did great for our 20 minute shoot. 🙂
- “I need to lose twenty pounds first.” This is why you want to use a professional photographer that has invested heavily in education. As a certified professional photographer, I have been trained on lighting and posing to flatter all body types. I can even help you select clothing to make you feel slimmer. And, as a self-proclaimed Photoshop junkie, I can digitally help you out as well. [no, I won’t change a 250 pound body into a 120 pound body!]. You tell me what you’re uncomfortable with and I’ll be happy to help you out.
I know it can seem daunting to set up a family photo shoot. But if we address your family challenges and your own anxieties, I promise to make things easy for you! You and I both want your family to walk away from the photo shoot happy and thinking it was fun, right?
Fall is a great time to book a family portrait session! There are lots of awesome places to shoot in the Brighton and Howell areas. Contact me to set up a date! And, if you haven’t already done so, you can pick up a copy of my Portrait Style Guide when you sign up for my monthly newsletter!
