My family photo process from start to finish:
I love showing my daughters that their mama is an entrepreneur! They sat next to me as I looked through Google Maps finding spots to location scout. They tagged along as we went from location to location, finding the best spots and lighting. They watched as I culled and edited photos and put together client slideshows. They also pored over new prints and products before I offered them to families. They've seen each step of the way, and now I'm going to show you my steps to a successful family photo session.
Step 1: Location scout.
I've spent many hours looking through Google Maps and making lists of prospective places to location scout. When I arrive at a location, I make notes on the proximity to the parking lot, any benches available to sit on, if there's backdrop variety, if the ground is level/paved and how crowded it is. I also use an app on my phone to figure out the best lighting. Every location has a unique start time, depending on if there's trees, mountains, fields or flowers. If you book a 7pm session, I might adjust the start time earlier or later depending on the location you choose. In the photos below, you can see the sun dips behind the tree line at 20 (or 8pm) so I'll want to start the session before then, to avoid losing too much light!
Step 2: Have fun at your family photo shoot.
I review your family photo questionnaire prior to our shoot. I remember your likes, dislikes and your dream shots. I visualize where your family will be at specific spots so I'm ready for you when you arrive! I have a posing flow. We'll start with the posed photos, because I find that usually, kids are eager to listen and follow along at the beginning. Once we get those posed photos done, we'll play some games to capture candid moments.
Step 3: Edit your photos.
I love sitting in my cave and editing your family photos. There's magic when you tweak with all the sliders in Lightroom and Photoshop and see a photo transform right before your eyes. I remove distractions, edit for proper skin tones, add vibrancy and contrast, head swap and adjust about 30 other things with each photo. I spend hours doing this, give my eyes a break for a few days...and with a fresh perspective, will do a few additional tweaks. Here are some before and afters...can you spot the differences?
Step 4: Deliver your gallery.
All clients will see a photo slideshow set to music in their gallery. I encourage all families to watch this first, before looking through all their photos because it's such a fun way to reveal everything! All packages include a certain amount of print credit, because I believe photos should exist on your walls, not just on your hard drives. Read about my favorite prints and products here.
The gallery you receive is filled with so much time and effort. From location scouting, to styling, to the actual session, to editing, I want each step of the way to be a positive experience for you. I take so much pride in what I deliver. Thanks so much for following along with my family photo process from start to finish! :)
