My Philosophy on Professional Family Photography

I’m here to tell you that you deserve more.

You shouldn’t just have “okay” photos or that “one picture of everyone smiling”. You should have a “Family Stone photo” that takes your breath away. I am passionate about serving people with photos like these. In 10, 20, maybe 50 years you will look back at your family photos and wish you had more. No one ever wishes they had less. That is why hiring a family photographer is worth the investment. Every. Single. Penny. 

I know, you already have SO many photos of your family. The issue is probably not quantity, it’s quality. Whether it’s on your iPhone or your “fancy camera” that you operate every now and then, the issue is not that you don’t have ANY photos (and hey, if you actually don’t have any photos, you’ll really want to keep reading). 

In this post, I will list the pros and cons of hiring a professional family photographer, cover what a session with me would look like and give you my tips on finding ways to bring out your family’s authentic personalities on camera.

In my family sessions I usually spend some time at the beginning just chatting with my families, showing the kiddos my camera and goofing around before I ask them to do less fun things like “stand there and smile”. I love the perspective that a child has on life and I believe that should shine through in their portraits. 

Almost all of my photos are of families interacting, so after we get that “framer” for the grandparents I encourage everyone to interact with each other and truly just hangout. I like to be a fly on the wall that gives light direction of what to do next. Your family is naturally beautiful and I promise you are going to do great in front of a camera.

“My kids are really high energy and it’s going to be difficult to get a good photo.” 

I have a lot to say about this. 

I am committed to capturing the photographs that your family deserves, and that includes me acting silly (or even foolish at times) to get it done. I would love to show you just how much fun I can have photographing your family and especially your excited, playful children. That energy and excitement for life creates for the best photos. I don’t believe family photography should be about sitting still and smiling at a camera.  I believe it should be about everyone’s personality shining through and creating images that accurately reflect who that person was at the time. I work hard for you to make that happen. 

I firmly believe that your professional family photographer should work for YOU. That means I will be running with your kiddos and encouraging that playful spirit while also frantically adjusting my settings and capturing the photos that you want the most. My clients have seen me jump up and down, make silly faces and crawl on the ground to get their photos captured. 

The Pros and Cons of Paying for a Professional Family Photographer

There is a lot to consider when thinking of hiring a photographer. This is your money here and more importantly, this is your time. 

Cons of hiring a photographer for family photos:

You have to get everyone ready and out the door. This is a struggle and I’m here to legitimize it. I know that the last thing your spouse or children want to do on a weekend afternoon is having somewhere to be in “nice” clothes. But this is the hardest part, I promise. If you’ve booked with me, this will be the most work you have to do for your photos. 

You only get a few photographs. Maybe in the past you have paid a professional family photographer and only received a couple photos that you have liked. That’s not my style. I give my clients every edited photograph from your session. This will leave you with a wide variety of options to choose from when printing your photos and sharing them with your people. 

Photos cost money. Yes, hiring a quality professional family photographer will cost you money but like I mentioned before, this service is SO worth it. Your family should be remembered at this stage of life, no matter how messy or chaotic it may feel. 

Read more: My Pricing and what is included in your sessions

Pros:

You get to spend uninterrupted, intentional time with your family in a fun place. Just imagine: you go to a park, play with your kiddos for 30 minutes-1 hour and then grab ice cream. Those are some *sweet* memories, pictures aside. Make your session a fun weekend activity and your family will thank you for it.  

You have photos to share. Grandma can never have enough photos, and as I said before, I will give you plenty of options. These can be used for Holiday cards, annual portraits to put in the scrapbook or a pregnancy announcement if that is where you are at in life. The people in your life love to have these images and celebrate your awesome family right alongside you. 

You get to look at these photos and reflect on how beautiful and sweet your family is. I believe that photography is important because a good photo can truly bring you a feeling or emotion that you’ve forgotten about. This is especially important during the difficult moments raising a family where joy & gratitude are lacking and you just want to casually hide from everyone in the pantry. Just imagine you are making your way to that pantry and you pass that beautiful photo of your kiddos being silly and sweet- you take a breath and feel a little better. I’m here to make that happen for you. 

Reminders To Help You Capture Your Best Photographs

Have snacks ready, make sure everyone gets a good night’s rest and chat with your photographer any special requests you might have during your session. When you book with me I will check in with you a few days before your session to see if you have any questions like what the parking is like at our location or what we will do if the weather is bad.

When it comes to choosing outfits, don’t wear uncomfortable clothes and prepare everything the day before so you can show up on time, relaxed and ready to have fun. Your kiddos will feed off of this energy and it will make for stunning photographs that you deserve to have. 

Above all, I want you to remember that your photographer should work for you - this is so important that I will say it again. Get to know your photographer. Do not pay someone to take your photos if you don’t mesh well. That is why I offer free 20 minute consultations to any of my clients. By weeding out photographers that you don’t click with, you have already taken the biggest step towards getting that “Family Stone photo” and I am so excited for you.