Scheduling a Family Photoshoot might be something you do regularly!
Family photoshoots are something I think should be a regular part of your year as a family! Whether it’s because you schedule a couple of mini sessions throughout the year, or whether you have a full session at a specific point in the summer every year… documenting your family is a huge deal.
Family photoshoots come in many shapes and sizes – mini sessions are shorter, and tidier, while full sessions are more focused, and longer, with larger galleries when all is said and done. But no matter which shape you’re booking, there are going to be steps to prepare fully for your session, and today, we’re going to go through those! Welcome to the ULTIMATE guide to Family Photoshoots, according to me, Jessica!!
When to book?
For these ultimate guides I tend to start at the beginning, which means starting with the booking process! But Family sessions are a little bit different, because while sessions like Newborn Sessions or Maternity Sessions – and even Senior Sessions – are “time locked,” family sessions can take place pretty much any time. They don’t depend on a milestone, they’re just a celebration of your family, at any time you want to celebrate!
That being said, booking at the last minute isn’t always workable, not because of anything on your end, but because of the photographer you want to work with. When you’re booking a family session, make sure you expect that your photographer might not have immediate availability, and you might have to wait a little bit to get into the calendar! That’s not always the case, sometimes I, for example, even have same-week availability because of the way I manage my calendar. But if you want to have EXTENDED family involved in your session, and there’s a specific time that everyone is going to be together, try to make sure you have at least six weeks of lead time to reach out to photographers. It’ll help make sure you get into the calendar seamlessly at a time that works for you!
When to schedule?
All of this means that when you’ve picked your favorite photographer and you’re ready to book, you can schedule it for whenever works for you and the photographer! However, there are other timing things to consider, like time of day. Not just for things like the light, if you want your session to take place outdoors, but also because everyone’s family functions differently at different times of day.
For example, if your family includes toddlers, and they’re less… functional… (read as: they enter their tantrum-times) at a specific time of day, maybe try to avoid that time frame when you’re booking. Talk it through with your photographer, and they will work with you to pick a time that works for everyone, including your little ones! This is especially true if there are neurodivergent kiddos (or adults!) in your session, who need to be accommodated.
The First Steps for your Family Session
Once you’ve thought about booking your session, chosen a photographer, and figured out a time frame, you need to consider location!
Family sessions can take place almost anywhere, from a meaningful location in the Minneapolis or Twin Cities area, to your own home, to the photographer’s studio! All of these plans will end up with you having a different photo set. And combined with the timing, that brings in other factors too! Like an outdoor session in December will be very different than one in June. That’s just the nature of… well, nature. (See what I did there?) Based on your vision for the session, your photographer should be able to help you select a location that they either work at regularly, or advise about whether your session should take place in your own home!
Sessions occurring in your home might even be an accommodation for your kiddos (or you!) and that’s valuable too.
So that means steps 1-3 are:
- Choose a photographer local to you whose work you’re obsessed with
- Ask them the burning questions you’ve got
- Talk about locations
- Get booked into their calendar!
Up to a Month Before Your Family Photoshoot
So, sometimes I lump this into the “one to two weeks” category, but I’m going to go ahead and put it earlier because I know how difficult it can be to get on hairdresser’s calendars sometimes!! If you’re thinking you’re going to want your hair done or your nails done before your session, as soon as you’ve booked it, it’s time to think about scheduling those sessions into your stylists’ calendars. Now I do have to tell you that this one isn’t required by any means!! You don’t HAVE to get your hair done, and you don’t HAVE to get your nails done. But if those are little details you want to have taken care of professionally before your session, then absolutely go for it!!
If this is something you’re going to do, that makes step 4:
- Schedule styling appointments with hairdressers, or nail techs
One to Two Weeks Before Your Family Photo Shoot
After you’ve chosen your photographer and scheduled all of the things, you’ve got a few logistical items to do on your side in the lead-up to the session!
The first, is picking outfits. Sometimes, that’s going to mean a consultation with your photographer! If they, like I do, have gowns in their client closet that you can wear for your session, then they might offer a consultation where you can look at the dresses and choose one (or more!) to wear for your session. Make sure you discuss any wardrobe limitations with your photographer, in case there’s a specific number of wardrobe changes included in your package!
Once you’ve chosen what YOU’RE going to wear, it’s time to make sure anyone else who’s going to be included in the session also has appropriate wardrobe items chosen. Whether that’s your other kiddos, your partner, or your entire team of cousins, they’re going to have to wear something, right? So go through your little ones’ closet(s) and make sure you’ve chosen clothing items that fit. Or, if it’s going to require a trip to department stores… do that NOW, not later!! It’s the absolute worst to realize you need new clothes two days before your session, and you don’t have time to make it happen.
Then of course, it’s time to get all of your humans excited for the session!! This is especially important if there will be neurodivergent kiddos (or adults!) coming along, who might need a little extra mental preparation before the session itself. If there’s extended family coming, reach out to them with reminders about the session, and help them to coordinate their clothing choices, if that’s a part of your session planning.
This means your one-to-two-week list is:
- Choose your family’s clothes
- Get the humans excited!
3-5 Days Before Your Session
Once you get to the 3-5 day lead up point, you’re in the home stretch!! There are a few things you need to think about in those few days. The first one to tell you, is now is the time to stop using any self-tanner or tanning lotion you usually use, or that you’ve been using up to now. I know it’s tempting to top things up, but fresh tanning solutions end up adding a super weird orange glow to your images, and there’s nothing much we can do about that after the fact – so it’s better to avoid them altogether!
Aside from avoiding turning yourself orange by accident, this is time to do a last try-on of your clothes (for everyone involved in your session!) and make sure that you also have any accessories picked out that you’re going to wear. If you’re doing your own nails, this is the time to do them! That way they’ll be fresh for your session. There’s some amount of adjustment that can be done when the images are post-processed, but keeping that to a minimum is the best case scenario, we want to capture what you ACTUALLY look like, after all!
You’ll also want to make sure you’re happy with the way things like bra straps and panty lines show in the outfit you’ve chosen, as well as undershirt lines for men who might be coming with you. These are also on the list of things that are way better to handle in real life!
This is also the point where you should pay a little extra attention to eating right and drinking enough water. Hydrating in the days before your session can help your skin look hydrated and EXTRA gorgeous! The same goes for anyone coming with you to the session.
Then of course, there’s more excitement to build!! Make sure you’re reminding your people about what’s coming.
3-5 Days before your session, you should:
- Stay away from the spray tan, despite how tempting I know it is
- Try on all the clothes you’re going to wear, and make sure nothing has tags on it still
- Make sure you’re happy with your accessories, and that there are no bra/panty/undershirt lines you’re going to want removed
- Hydrate!!
- Keep building the excitement
1-2 Days Before Your Session
You’re in the home stretch!! You’ve done it!! Of course, there are a few more things to think about, but the bulk of it is behind you. You’ve already sorted out your hair and nails, and you’ve got all of your clothing picked out, and you’ve done a last minute try on… but there’s a tiny bit more!
The first one is a final check on the clothes you’re going to be wearing, and if you’re bringing multiple changes of clothing, making sure they’re all packed for your session day. I know it’s tempting to leave it to the last minute, but packing it all ahead of time makes things easier, I promise!
Then, if your session is taking place out in the world, or in the studio, you’ll want to pop together a little bag with the things you’d normally bring with you when you go places with your kiddos. Some snacks – if you’re bringing a wee babe with you, whatever they’re eating, as well as some extra diapers etc. You know what goes in your going-out bag, I don’t need to tell you! But you’ll want to prep that, juuust in case things are a little chaotic on the day-of.
If your session is taking place in your home, it’s time to do a little tidy of the spaces you’re going to want to use for your family photoshoot! The general rule with prepping your home, is that if it’s in the space… it’s going to be in the photo. So make sure you’re happy with the chaos, if there IS chaos in your home. Not everyone is going for “perfectly polished” in images taken in their own home, sometimes the chaos is kind of the point. Because you want to document life as it IS. But that’s entirely down to you, and your preferences! So if your session is happening in your home, prep it how you WANT it to appear in images.
Finally, keep hydrating!!
That makes your final pre-session checklist look like this:
- Double check all the clothing things
- Pack your day-bag OR clean your space
- Drink more water
- Keep up the excitement!
To bring it all together, let’s look at the Family Session prep list in full!
What all this leads us to, is a list that looks like this:
Booking
- Choose a photographer you love
- Ask them the questions you have
- Talk about locations
- Get booked
Up to a Month Before
- Schedule hair, nail, or makeup appointments
One to Two Weeks Before
- Choose your clothes
- Get your humans excited (if humans are coming with you!)
3-5 Days Before
- Stay away from the spray tan, despite how tempting I know it is
- Try on all the clothes you’re going to wear, and make sure nothing has tags on it still
- Make sure you’re happy with your accessories, and that there are no bra/panty/undershirt lines you’re going to want removed
- Hydrate!!
- Keep building the excitement
1-2 Days Before
- Double check all the clothing things
- Pack your day-bag OR clean your space(s) at home, if the session is in your home!
- Drink more water
- Keep up the excitement!
If you’ve got questions, never hesitate to ask!
This should help you feel more prepared for your upcoming family shoot, but if you have even more questions… don’t hesitate to let me know! I’m always more than happy to talk through the steps of your session, and make sure that you’re completely, 100% comfortable with what’s coming before we get to the day itself.
Can’t wait to see you in the studio! Or wherever we’re going, since not all sessions are in the studio.
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