Planning For Your Family Portraits

Here are several points to consider when planning for your family portraits.

How Often? Generally, every three years, or after a major change such as birth or marriage. Any longer than that, and people will have changed enough that the old portrait on the wall looks like someone else.

What Time of Year? You can choose any time of year. If you are winter people, why not pick a ski or other outdoor setting? If you are boaters, late summer is a good time. Many family images are captured in early autumn. The weather is cooler, things may have calmed down a bit from summer, and you have the opportunity to capture fall colors in many areas of the country.

What's the Occasion? Most family portraits are not centered around any specific occasion - they are scheduled and conducted independent of other life activities. However, if you have a special gathering of relatives for a family reunion, holiday get-together, wedding, baptism or graduation, it is a good opportunity to get extended family images taken.

What Location? Think about what kind of images you would like to have preserved. Are you interested in formal, indoor portraits, or more casual, outdoor images? Are you fond of beach or woods settings? Determining how you want your family represented is an important step in planning for your family portraits. Destination Images are one option you may not normally think to consider - if you hire a photographer to take your images while on a trip, or travel with the photographer to a special location, you can capture some truly special images.

Where Do You Want to Display? Your family portraits should command the center of attention in your house. Be certain to think about the locations where you would like to display the images. Your photographer will consult with you on the size and type of images that would work well in each setting, as well as some color scheme ideas for clothing and setting that would compliment the decor. Also think about your work and second home for possibilities to display wall portraits and desk images.

What/Who Do We Include? Well, the core family is a must. You may want to add extended family such as husbands and wives and their children for some images. You will have to consider whether boyfriends and girlfriends are in your main group shots - it may be best to have smaller images with them and a smaller group. If you have a property, setting or toy such as a boat, camp, farm or club to which you belong, you may want to have those featured as well.

What Should We Wear? It will depend on the setting of course, but the key is to be compatible in color and dress. For beach, it is common to have either khaki or denim bottoms and white or other solid-color tops, and often, bare feet are better in the sand than footwear. For fall photos, denim and solid colors are appropriate. For special setting or destinations, you just need to plan and communicate before the day of the event.

How Long to Plan for the Session? You'll want to block off a couple of hours for an average family session. To make sure the session goes well, plan to have your clothing laid out before that day, and make sure any small children and pets are well rested and fed. Family sessions should be relaxed and pleasant. In fact, many customers comment that their family session was one of the more enjoyable events that their family has had.

What to Budget? Family portraits are not like school pictures. They are an investment and works of art, and they are not generally taken more than once every few years. So be prepared to invest in the legacy and memory. The actual cost of the images will depend upon your photographer and the products that you choose, and you should discuss the financial deatils during your planning sessions. 

So, that's not so bad! You now are prepared to search for and contact photographers who can guide you through your family portrait experience. As you screen your photographers, see if they ask you these questions. If they do not, then you need to question their ability to understand and meet your needs. And if it's been more than three years for your family - start planning for your portraits today!