Capture Your Family's Special Moments with a Bay Area Family Photoshoot
This has been a nagging ask or the deepest desire in your heart for a long time! You wanted to get professional photos of your beautiful family ever since.
But
You don’t know where to start
Your partner and/or kids have no inclination of getting in front of the camera.
I get it! I have the exact same set of husband and kids at my home too. But this is so important to me. To have reminders of love strewn around our house in the form of pictures and albums. Every now and then my kids will sit on the living room floor and ponder over the albums I have created for them. They ask and share stories, they laugh and giggle looking at their baby pictures and most of all, are reminded that they were loved with all we had!
So over the years, I have asked for one and only gift for Mother’s day and Holidays, a Family Photoshoot!
There is no other worldly possession I would rather have than these beautiful heirlooms I get to create and pass on to my kids as a reminder of the love and connection of our family.
So after you have convinced your family that this is what you really want, I can help you with booking the most fun and heartfelt photo session in the Bay Area.
What exactly are you looking for in your Family Photoshoot?
Before we ponder over how to find and book a photographer, let's take a minute and discuss what it is that you are exactly looking for?
Photography can mean so many different things to so many people.
Some prefer to get their family portraits taken in the studio. These sessions are posed and articulated well in advance. You dress your family up in kind of formal attire and head for the studio to get well posed, everyone smiling into the camera, kind of pictures.
The other kind is known as Lifestyle Photography. You meet your photographer at an outdoor location and they photograph your family as they are. They can sometimes loosely pose or give you prompts, but most of all its a relaxed session and you come back to beautiful emotive pictures but might not have any photograph where everyone is looking into the camera. The lifestyle photography does not involve any props.
The third kind, the one that I shoot, is a mix of the two approaches. I meet you in a beautiful outdoor location but before that we discuss your dream session in detail. We discuss what props we can include to make this the session you have always wanted. We discuss your wardrobe and poses and all the other details. I get to know you and your family so we can hit it off right off the park. I start with a formal picture, so we can make grandma happy, but after that the session is fun and heartfelt and involves a lot of belly laughs.
You come home with a mix of portraits, formal pictures(admittedly very few) and lots of love soaked family images.
Find a family photographer whose work you love
Now once you know what your vibe is, you can look for a photographer whose work matches speaks to you and draws you in.
Every photographer has a very distinct style and their work is very personal to them. More often than not, you can look at a picture and tell who was the photographer behind it.
So it's very important that you understand and love their work, because that is how they will photograph you and your family.
If a photographer goes for deeply emotive images chances are they will not give you “studio style” pictures and the vice versa is true too.
Share your expectations with your photographer
If there is one thing you pick from this article, let it be this! Communicate with your photographer, tell them about your expectations from this photoshoot. Do you have any special requests or limitations? Do you want to include family pets in the session? Do you want to include your parents in the photoshoot? Clear communication goes a long way and makes sure there aren't any unpleasant surprises during or after the photoshoot.
Most people pick Family Photographers for life and trust them with all their big and small milestones in life. This is one person you will be sharing important events in your life. So take time and get to know each other.
Check their Family Photo Session Investment guide
Now that you have found a photographer whose work you love and can’t wait for them to photograph your beautiful family, check their investment guide.
Now this might seem surprising, but you can find photographers from a range of $80 to $8000. But like everything in life, you get what you pay for. An unforgettable experience and the pictures that take your breath away always comes with a price. I am not asking you to go with the most expensive photographer but be wary of deals that you find on social media.
Professional photographers invest in quality gears, training and professional development and provide you with a consistent pleasant experience.
Check out my investment guide to see How much your family photo session costs when you work with me.
Check your Family Photographers delivery timelines and cancellation/rescheduling policies
This is another very important point to consider. The policies and timeline of your favorite family photographer plays a big role in your overall experience with them.
How open is the photographer to rescheduling in case of sickness or inclement weather?
What are their Cancellation and Other policies?
Are there any traveling fees involved?
When and how do they deliver pictures?
Do they sell any products?
What does the entire experience with this Family Photographer look like?
Pick a date and Book your session
Now that you have crossed so many hurdles and made a billion decisions to get to this point, I am sure you are exhausted. Well, one last thing and you would have found and booked the best bay area family photographer for your family.
Pick a date that works for both you and your photographer and book yourself a family session you will never forget.
Different photographers have different approaches to booking. For some you will be able to look through their calendar and find a date that works for the both of you and with others there might be back and forth emails figuring out a date and getting a session booked.
With me, you are able to see my calendar, pick a date that works for the both of us and with just one click book your session online.
I hope this was helpful in finding and booking a photographer you love.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions.
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