Family Portrait Session

I like to schedule all portrait sessions 2 hours before sunset when possible in order to work with the best natural light. For an indoor session this isn’t as necessary, but often on family sessions in the home we’ll take a few shots outside. Other times in the day for an outdoor shoot are possible (morning after sunrise also has great light) so long as it’s not the middle of the day which generally has the most unflattering light to work with.

My main suggestion is to stay away from patterns and logos. Also, an iron is a good thing…mid-tones and darks help with wrinkles and brighter / white tends to show wrinkles more. Making dramatic changes to your appearance prior to the shoot is not recommended – you might not like the change. Other than this, what you’d like to see in your photos following the session is what to where. Please know that I may ask you to sit on the ground, move around, etc. at one point or another if everyone’s comfortable with it.

To hang out while having some photographs taken of you all as a family. I usually start with a couple traditional / formal shots and then work some photojournalistic or posed creative photographs from there. Sounds simple and it should be…more than anything I’m trying to help everyone relax, be comfortable, have fun, and be themselves. With babies and kids I’m totally cool with taking breaks as needed! Also, just a heads up that for indoor sessions, I’ve been known to remodel people’s homes moving furniture, etc around the house, if needed. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

My portrait session fee is $650, ($325 deposit with contract + $325 due at or invoiced following the session). This covers the session itself (we typically work for one and a half hours), the edit work following the session, and a download of the full resolution digital images from the session along with a print release. A family session with me typically delivers around 50 edited images.