The Week of Your Session
Some families start the location conversation months in advance when inquiring about a session and others pick out that perfect spot a week beforehand. If your session is somewhere new or at a time of day I don't typically shoot I will always take my crew of littles to our spot within the week. While the kids explore I search for the perfect lighting!
The photos below are a good reminder that shoots don't always have to happen at sunrise or sunset - these were practice for a 9:30am session. Lots of pretty light!
The Day of Your Session
30 minutes really is plenty of time to get a diverse gallery of family photos when the photographer has prepared beforehand. I use my client questionnaires to build a workflow that will fit the needs of each family. A session with younger children looks much different than one with tweens and teens. For the most part I always follow the lead of the children but with a general flow of poses to maximize our time together. Most poses involve movement and flow quickly from one to the next.
One of my favorite prompts to do with families:
"Don't mom and dad look so cute together? Let's get a quick picture of them and then I need your help! When I say 'go' we're going to surprise mom and dad with a running hug!"
