Artful portraits crafted to
celebrate your story
Please use these resources to help you plan for your session. You’ll find information regarding what to wear, what to expect, how to prep, and some tips and tricks so you have a positive experience and receive the best gallery of images.
My inspiration is what makes your life beautiful, what brings your heart joy, and what matters most to you.
01 What To Wear
What feeling do you want your images to portray? Bold and contrasted? Cool or warm? Soft and airy? A mixture of bold and simplistic? A good way to answer this question is to think about how you’d like to showcase your images. In an album on the coffee table? A gallery wall in your home? Your images will be art pieces as tangible items along with digital copies for archival purposes. You’'ll want to keep comfort in mind yet put proper planning into the occasion. Button up shirts, polo, half button tops for the guys and dresses, rompers, and a mixture of tight and loose fitting clothing for the ladies.
Warm neutrals photograph beautifully in the outdoor mountain scenery. I encourage incorporating at least 25% of neutrals (beige, whites/off whites, and taupes) into your color palette. Darker shades will result in moodier images. Everyone can wear different shades of neutrals to offer variation to your images (just be sure they are similar in temperature (don’t pair very warm neutrals with very cool colors).
Choose 1-2 coordinating colors in various shades. Limit bold patterns to 1 in every 5 individuals, and soft or smaller prints to 2-3 in every 5 individuals. Pair solids with patterns. Clothing textures, layers, and accessories give your images depth. Long flowy dresses showcase movement in your images. I don't limit outfit changes for full sessions (half sessions don't allow enough time for outfit changes), but they take time so keep in mind I try to spend as much time as possible capturing your family.
AVOID: logos, selecting the exact same clothing or clothing colors (coordinate don’t match), neon & overly bright colors, everybody wearing jeans, dirty shoes or shoes that don’t coordinate with the style you’re going for.
Need more personalized guidance? Shoot me an email and we’ll set up a time to connect!
From beginning to end, I want to make your photo experience as stress-free as possible for you, which is why you will have access to my online personalized styling service. This service is completely complimentary to your session. The inventory is updated on a weekly basis and individual stylists are working their magic on your personalized questionnaire. HOWEVER! Do not feel like you are required to use it or purchase anything new, I get absolutely nothing; no kick-backs what-so-ever. I just want to offer even more value to my clients. If all you do is gain inspiration from the outfits, that's perfectly fine! Your styling code was emailed to you!
online styling service⤵
02 Prepping For The Session
The best way for me to capture authentic and joyful images is if you're actually happy and smiling. 😉 I'll provide plenty of guidance and I expect much less of toddlers because their true emotions are what I'm after. However, parent's are more likely the ones that need to make the conscious effort to look happy even if it gets a little chaotic. Even if the kids aren't happy the entire time, parents having happy faces and good attitudes is essential.
I will guide your session based on the answers from your questionnaire. I love to capture the in-between moments that are unscripted and something I didn't intentionally ask for. With that being said, I do often ask that you stand in a specific spot, turn a certain way, or step aside depending on the shot I'm after. (I'll also tell you what to do with your hands and the best way to stand.) I take the chaos with open arms, but I do slow things down at times to be sure I'm intentional with the images I capture. I’m happy to guide and instruct as much as necessary to make you feel comfortable.
It's most important to me that you all connect with each other vs my camera. If I'm prompting you to move or play; it's always best to break the contact with the camera and look within your family. When I need everyone looking at the camera, I'll be sure to specifically ask that "everyone looking here!".
Some kids do better with bribes and I'm all for it. The best kinds are small treats the kids (and Dad's 🙃) that can be awarded after the session. Or perhaps going out for ice cream after the session or doing something fun the kids will love.
Props, puppies, etc: If you’re wondering about how you can make your experience personal and memorable, feel free to bring along any props that are special to you. My favorite and simple props are: neutral colors blankets, hats, textured shall/sweaters.
Pull up our meeting location to determine your travel time. Many of these locations have no or spotty service, so be sure to get an idea of the location before you leave. If you don’t see your meeting location in that list, let me know and I’ll send you a pin!
03 Session Flow
I have a flow to all my sessions that has naturally developed after photographing hundreds of families. Sessions aren’t rigid and I keep in mind the shots that are important to you from your questionnaire. I typically start with full family images. These are often-times more posed and coordinated and include single family sessions and extended family groups. I like to see where the natural placement is and then as necessary and for fun, I’ll move people around to ensure I can see everyone well. As always, this “flow” is very fluid and we will sneak in shots here and there and I’ll be looking between the lines at the details, what’s happening behind me, and how you interpret my prompts. When shooting with little ones, we know they are ultimately the ones that are calling the shots!
I will shoot through everything. If you’re laughing because your husband pinches your behind, if the kids fall down and cry and need consoled, if you giggle after cheesing for a second too long… I shoot through it all. I will ask for everyone to move, walk, look around, and more. If little ones are present, expect me to say fart, toot, smelly feet, and the like. I do not ask every family to do the same prompts or games, I will go with the flow of each individual family. I will ask you to repeat actions and I’m always open to your idea’s and opinions. I shoot based on lighting first, scenery second.
Extended Families: After we capture plenty of group shots, I will spend time with each individual family which include: full family images, mom and dad, the kids together, individual portraits, and more. Often times, we’ll think of more group shots along the way. Structured yet flexible
04 After Your Session
Post Production takes anywhere from 2-6 weeks for family sessions. The more time, more people, and more details that take place during the session, the more time post production takes. I deliver full galleries for every session. All of your images are processed in house, hand edited, by me. My style is consistent and can be explained as film-like with a soft pop. I do not follow fads and want your images to be timeless; able to pass through the generations with the same beauty and appreciation of them when they’re first delivered. What I deliver is the final product. If there are images that are missing from your gallery it is because they didn’t meet my standard. RAW images are never delivered. Basic skin retouching is performed on every image and unless requested, no permanent markings are removed. Scratches, pimples, etc will all be removed. Skin is left with it’s natural texture while softened to best showcase skin tones.
When your images have been processed, you will receive an email with your gallery details. From your gallery you will download your images for archival purposes. Prints, canvas, acrylic, frames, cards, and more are all available to you from my professional lab that has been tested to reflect the best color rendition of your images and I highly recommend printing through your gallery. Prints from outside labs will not be guaranteed.
Your kind review means the world to me and is the last step that ties up your session. I’ll send you links with your gallery to make it simple for you to let other people know what it’s like to work together and how your experience was. Returning clients always enjoy 10% off future sessions.