Don’t Wait To Schedule Your Family Photos
You’re scrolling through social media, when you see images from a friend’s recent family photo session. Beautiful smiling faces. Laughing family shots where dad is tickling the kids. Your heart is warmed as you see the love of this family captured in photos you know they cherish. And then you think to yourself, “I need to schedule our family photos.” Between busy jobs and little ones to care for, it’s easy to forget to schedule these important memory-saving sessions. I get it. In today’s post, I want to encourage you with three reasons you should prioritize these sessions and two tips to make that a little easier for you!
They grow so fast
As moms, we get tired of hearing it, but it still rings true: kids grow so fast. Before you know it, six months have gone by and you can’t believe how big your children seem. Or maybe you’re like a lot of families and you take first and last day of school photos. Wow, the difference a school year can make! It’s so important to capture these days and have a token to look back at and remember this season when they’re so little. Even if you have big kids, or maybe teenagers, I promise a few years from now you’ll be so glad to have photos from all the years past.
Your loved ones will thank you
Have you ever been to a family reunion? It’s a beautiful sight to see many different generations come together to celebrate being a family. A cherished tradition at most family reunions is going through old photos and family albums, reminiscing on when a pair of grandparents were married or when certain family members were born. Photos bring back a feeling of nostalgia few other things can elicit. Having annual family photos taken and even better, having them saved in an heirloom album, ensures that future generations will be able to look back and reminisce. Many of my clients tell me that they’re waiting a little while to schedule a session because maybe they want to lose weight or make some other change to their appearance. I always encourage them to go ahead and have the photos taken. I know their loved ones will thank them in the future.
Meaningful art for your home
I mentioned heirloom albums as being a great option for physically preserving your family’s photos, but they aren’t the only option. Many of my clients choose to preserve their images with professional, framed prints. What better way to decorate the walls of your home than with the precious faces of the people living inside it? An album on a table, or a glass box of prints on a mantle can make for great conversation starters when guests are visiting your home. These professional prints will last a lifetime and can be passed down to children and grandchildren. They also make great gifts!
Tip #1: Schedule one at the end of another
My best tip for making sure that your family photos are always scheduled and taken care of is to schedule your next photo session at the end of the last one. If you take bi-annual photos, or even annual photos, I can secure a date for you for the next session. This ensures that I have availability and then you don’t have to worry about remembering. It’s one less thing on your to-do list! Worried about scheduling so far in the future? Don’t! I will send a reminder email a few weeks before your session to talk through outfits and planning.
Tip #2: Don’t worry about perfect
Many times, the thought of all that goes into getting ready for family photos makes people put off scheduling them. I completely understand. It can feel daunting to think about planning what everyone will wear, making sure everyone is in a happy mood and will be well-behaved. I want to encourage you to let go of the need for everything to go perfectly. I do offer a few tips on outfit selection for my clients but at the end of the day, when you look back on these photos, your focus will be on the people, not the clothing. It’s more important that you have the images than that they be perfect. And I promise, no matter how much planning you do, kids will be kids and you can’t control every aspect of how the session will go. I have so much experience photographing families and I know we will capture beautiful images of your family. Leave that to me!
I hope by now that you feel a little less overwhelmed at the thought of having your family’s photos taken. If you’re thinking you want to schedule a session and capture your family as they are right now, I’d love to work with you! You can reach out to schedule your family portrait session HERE.
