How I prepare for your outdoor fall family photos.


I'd never heard of McAuliffe Park until this family brought it to my attention. Tractors, bamboo trees, a barn and wide open spaces sounded too good to be true. I had to explore this spot immediately and when I did, fell in love with it! When you hire a family photographer, you aren't just asking someone to snap pretty photos. Yes, that's a tiny portion of what I do, but let me walk you through how I prepare for your family photo session.

Kirkland Family Photographer capturing family laughing together at McAuliffe Park in Kirkland
Mother and son having a laugh together at sunset
Nose kisses captured by Kirkland family photographer
Son playing with mom at McAuliffe Park

Every location is physically scouted.


I don't just look at a Google image of a location and call it good. I will physically go to every single location to determine if it's a good fit or not before adding it to my location guide. Is it quiet? Is it spacious? Does it have good lighting? These are all questions going through my head as I walk through the space. I'll use my Sun Tracker app to determine where the sun is at any given time. This tells me the best time to show up to our session together. Every location has a different starting time and this app helps me figure it out. Below is an example of a location scouting trip to McAuliffe Park.

Son kissing father at sunset at a local park in Kirkland
Black and white candid photo of son tenderly embracing mother
Sunset photo of father and two kids at a local park in Kirkland

Your family questionnaire is so important.


Every family fills out a questionnaire before their outdoor fall family photos. What are your likes? Dislikes? What is your dream photo? I read and re-read your answers until I've memorized them because I want to get those important moments for you. Every family's needs are different. There's no one size fits all, so by reading your questionnaire and visualizing your session, I am prepared to capture your love and joy.

Family throwing bamboo leaves at McAuliffe Park
Son having fun with bamboo leaves at McAuliffe Park in Kirkland
Kirkland family photographer captures boy playing with bamboo leaves at McAuliffe Park in Kirkland

I get my camera settings right.


I shoot in manual, because it gives me 100% control of my camera. My shutter speed is always 1/500 of a second or faster to deliver crisp photos of your active children. My aperture (depth of field) is between f 2.5-f 3.2 to isolate you from your environment. My ISO is the last thing I toggle, as I determine if I want to overexpose, underexpose or keep the photo properly exposed. Throughout your session, I am adjusting my camera settings as the lighting changes and I am adjusting your pose to best utilize the light.

Candid photo of family laughing at McAuliffe Park in Kirkland
Black and white photo of family walking and laughing together
Family sitting in front of a barn laughing
Baby and brother posing and smiling at McAuliffe Park

Every single photo is hand edited.


Every single photo is hand edited with care. I adjust, tweak and re-tweak your outdoor fall family photos until it looks right to me. I'll do an initial pass over of your photos and apply global edits. Then I'll go through every single photo and tweak the photos until the colors, contrast and crispness is exactly how I like. I'll wait a few hours and when my eyes are fresh, do another pass through and when I'm happy, will upload your gallery online. Editing takes many hours and can't be rushed!

Candid photo of family smiling and laughing at a local park in Kirkland
Boy walking into bamboo forest at McAuliffe Park in Kirkland
Kirkland family photographer captures family laughing together in front of a barn
Family posing in front of bamboo trees at McAuliffe Park in Kirkland
Candid photo of husband and wife twirling and dancing

Your love is worth capturing.


Your moments, your memories and your love is worth capturing. These moments go by so quickly. Invest in a photographer who is invested in you. I can't wait to work with you and bottle up these moments in time.

Brother playing with baby sister
Brother tickling baby sister's toes
Black and white photo of brother and sister together in Kirkland
Kirkland family photographer captures tender sibling moment on a blanket in Kirkland