Minneapolis Family Photographer Options are EVERYWHERE

Okay look, I’ve kind of beat the point home about how ever photographer is different, and you need to find someone to work with for your family photos who will meet your family’s needs. But… it’s so, so important so I’m doing it again! This time, we’re talking about the questions you should be asking before you hire a family photographer.

Now, of course there’s more than this. Like, it’s not a “five questions and done” kind of thing, but these are the big ones. And this also covers basically everything that’s deeply important, since you’ll OF COURSE look at their portfolio and their reviews beforehand!

So without further ado: the questions you need to DM them!

1. What if I need to reschedule our session?

Photographers have vastly different rescheduling policies, and it’s super important to make sure that you’re familiar with whatever the photographer you’re working with uses.

I personally am fairly flexible. I’m a mom. I get it, life happens, little Johnny gets a fever and the world is thrown into CHAOS. I also want to make it clear that if little Johnny DOES have a fever, PLEASE reach out to reschedule. I love your family, and I love all of the families I work with, and part of loving and caring for your families is making sure that I’m not unintentionally spreading kiddo-creepy-crud around during sessions.

So not only do I allow rescheduling for illness especially, I ask that you do please reach out about it.

But not all photographers take that approach! So make sure that you’re familiar with your chosen photographer’s rescheduling policy BEFORE you book.

2. What does the process for your sessions look like, and when will I get my photos?

Big question, right? Lots of family photographers will have information like this laid out super clearly on their website, but others are a little less strict with how they share that kind of info. So when in doubt: ASK.

For example, the process for my sessions is super simple, and it’s all over my website! You book (prices starting at $450/5 images currently), we discuss your vision for the session, we have your session, you receive your gallery proof within 24 hours… you choose your images (or upgrade to get more than the 5 that come with the session!) and then we talk prints, if you want to.

It’s the simplicity that I love, totally worked into my process. I like to keep things as straightforward as possible, because I know how totally bonkers life can get. But not all photographers follow the same process! Some don’t include any photos in their session fee, for example. Or others like to ALWAYS have an in-person consultation before sessions (I do offer these, but we don’t always do one, if it’s not needed!).

The important thing to remember, is the process your photographer follows will impact your experience a ton. Like, I get photos back to clients within 24 hours as proofs you can look through to choose your favorites. But some other photographers edit ALL images BEFORE you get to see them and choose your favorites, which takes a very different amount of time! And that changes your experience a ton too. So it’s just important to make sure that you know what you’re getting into, process-wise!

3. What should I do before our session to prepare?

I feel like the intro for every question in here is “this is HUGE to remember” but that’s because all of these are really important to your experience at your session. And that said… this is HUGE to remember!!

Every photographer recommends different preparation steps before a family session, and some of those steps will depend on their process. I personally take a pretty casual approach, because of that overall tenet I mentioned about making things easy. But not all photographers approach it this way!

When you’re prepping for your session, we want to make sure that you’ve chosen wardrobe options that align with your vision for the session, so that’s a step. We also want to make sure that you’re going to be on time, so check the route to our location to make sure that there isn’t a ton of traffic or anything. It can be nice to bring snacks for food-motivated kiddos, just in case that’s needed, and if you’re bringing a newborn, a fed baby is a happy baby, so make sure you’ve got breastmilk/formula with you just in case. But outside of that?

You do you, and show up (can you guess?) as YOU.

4. What if my kids don’t want to cooperate?

The age-old question, right? ESPECIALLY if there are toddlers involved. Because we ALL know toddlers are the most unpredictable creatures on planet Earth.

Now, knowing how your photographer handles non-cooperative kiddos is a super important bit of info to lock down before your session. For me personally? I can honestly tell you I haven’t met a kiddo I couldn’t get out of their shell during a session. I’m essentially the tiny-human-whisperer, and I do pride myself on that a little bit. So for our sessions? Uncooperative kiddos become cooperative pretty quickly.

But photographers have different policies about those kinds of situations! Everything from full-on rescheduling, to “if they’re crying, they’re gonna be crying in your photos, sorry not sorry.” And I get it – photographers can’t *control* other people’s children, and technically speaking it’s not the photographers fault if kiddos don’t want to have their picture taken, or are afraid of the stranger with the camera.

However… this is also one of the reasons that I don’t have a time limit on sessions! Usually they’re about 45 minutes, because let’s be honest – kids have an attention span, and that attention span usually isn’t hours long. But if it takes a little longer to get your kids into the flow of a session, then that’s what we’re going to do!

5. How much do you edit people’s bodies?

This is a big one, and it’s something that every photographer should be comfortable answering. And it’s important information for you to have when you’re looking at Minneapolis Family Photographer options!

For me personally, I don’t do any body edits. My job isn’t to make people look contoured and sleek – my job is capturing the beauty of YOU, as you ARE. And that means that no, I won’t be slimming anyone’s cheeks or flattening tummies.

I’m pretty big on honesty, and I think that presenting an inaccurate picture of ANYone’s body is dishonest, and also contributes massively to body dysmorphia, and low self esteem (especially in women and girls, but also in men and boys!)

So I personally don’t do major body edits. If someone has a blemish, TOTALLY different story. If it won’t be there in a week, it’s not going to be in your photos. But if the worry is more like a mom-tum situation… I’ve been there, and believe it or not that tum deserves to be documented too. It made humans, which is pretty damn cool.

All that being said, I think you miiiiiiiiight be able to see why maybe this is an important question to ask, right? Because if you’re going to DEFINITELY want extra body edits, then you’ll absolutely want to choose a photographer who will take those steps!

Still got questions about Minneapolis family photographer options?

That’s okay!

Everything here is important to ask – but there are other things you should do before you have a session! You should look through your chosen photographer’s reviews, and you should DEFINITELY look at their portfolio.

But if you’re still left with questions? Reach. Out. Have a conversation! Get those questions answered. And if you have questions for me personally… that’s what my contact form is for! So let’s chat, and make sure that you know exactly what you’re getting into before we schedule your Minneapolis Family Photo Session. I can’t wait to meet you and your clan!