What to Expect from Your Southeast Minnesota Family Photo Session: Start to Finish
Your Session: What to Expect
My goal as a lifestyle photographer is to capture authentic moments and connections. I don’t come to the session with a list of poses (though I always make sure to get the everyone-look-and-smile shot), but rather I take the time to guide you into organic moments to capture genuine smiles, laughter, and affections.
I am here to document those little everyday moments that add up to create the big memories you will look back on and cherish most. Life’s imperfections, craziness, love, and relationships are what make the images I capture real, memorable, and ultimately, show the inner beauty of you and your family.
So embrace life’s everyday moments and I’ll show you the beauty within them.
The Booking Process
So easy! Simply contact me and we can talk about expectations and details. Once we decide we’ll be a great fit for one another, I’ll send you over a link to your booking proposal, which is a simple walk through to finalize your booking.
I also offer online booking if you prefer to do it all on your own. Same process, just more automated and efficient!
The Resources
Get excited, you’re booked! Once we make it official, I’ll send you over my client guide that goes over all the information you need to have a successful session! Look it over and keep it in a safe place to reference later on.
You’ll also receive my style guide, which I generally send out about 6 weeks prior to your session (depending on how far in advance you book). This will give you all sorts of great resources to help you look your very best! It’s a tricky balance between coordinating colors, patterns, and textures. When done correctly, your session’s styling can elevate your images to the next level and add not only color and beauty, but emotion and movement. I will also send over information regarding my client closet of women’s dresses you are free to use, as well as an offer of full styling for your entire family. This allows you to put as much, or as little, effort into your clothing as you want. Some people want nothing to do with the shopping portion, in which case, I’ll take care of it all! I’ll do all the shopping and searching for everyone, and send you over the links to purchase, as well as a custom style board to see everything put together for easy visualization. Let’s keep this as stress-free as possible!
Samples of custom style boards seen below.
The Session
Woohoo! The session has arrived and it’s time to have some fun! We’ll meet at our decided location within 90 minutes of sunset for that yummy golden light, chat, loosen up, and just enjoy each other’s company! This is the time to relax, let loose, let your kids be kids and explore, play and dance… whatever makes your family unique and however you enjoy being with one another. Don’t be scared to move around, twirl your kids… really anything! I don’t want you to stress at all during your session, even if it feels like everything is chaotic and awful. Pretty much EVERY session with children feels crazy, and honestly that’s how I like it! I promise you, I have seen it all, and I’ve learned after working with hundreds of families how to embrace everything a family throws my way, so do not worry about me or what I’m seeing/thinking/doing. The main thing I want you, as parents, to remember, is that life isn’t perfect, kids are wild and emotional, and that’s OK! Just keep smiling, embrace the chaos, and just let go of the idea of perfection. Imperfection IS perfection. If you child is crying, embrace them and enjoy the snuggles. If they’re wild and running all over, that’s ok, they’ll come back around if you keep having fun and playing. Throw your expectations out the window and just be present. That’s all I ask.
Post-Session
Whew! That was awesome! Now what?? I go home and I edit like a mad woman and you wait anxiously for that gallery delivery email! Within 3 weeks of your session you’ll receive an email with your slideshow and gallery links. Enjoy browsing through the images, watching the slideshow with your family, and remembering all the fun we had. You’ll have a few days to choose your favorite images, or you can decide to purchase the full gallery. Once you’ve chosen, you’ll have access to download your files, print through my profession print lab if you choose, and show off those pretty photos!