Family Shoot FAQ
How do I book a Family shoot?
Honestly - just send me a message and hold a date. No booking fee. I’ll touch base a day or two prior RE; weather, etc and we can make any changes, if necessary, if the weather is looking bad.
What’s the whole process?
We’ll do the shoot and i’ll shoot a tonne. No need for payment yet. I’ll dump all your images when I get home and send you a proof gallery of all the images straight out of the camera - completely untouched and exactly as I shot them. Then you pick your favorites for me to edit - that will let us know which package you fall under and how much is owed.
Some find it daunting to pick their 20 favourites out of 300-500 images…but the process, if followed makes the process fairly simple. All you need to do is click the heart on each image that is worthy of considering - this pops them in a favourites gallery. Then head to your newly created favourites gallery and cull from here. “Well, these three aren’t nearly as good as this one…”. Unheart! Then, when you are at the point that you can’t weed down any further, you’re done! Send me a message, either through the galley or via an e-mail, and let me know that the list is final. I can see the list on my end, will see how many you have selected, and will give you your fee for the shoot, according to the image below. That will be looked after via e-transfer and I’ll have your images to you shortly after that.
How do I receive my images?
Images will be delivered view that same proof gallery. Expect his time, the proofs will be replaced with the full res collection, all now downloadable. You can download them one at a time via your smartphone or all at once as a complete collection via a zipped folder using your computer. If you have shoots with me each year, they will be all be in that same gallery with ‘collection tabs’ up top.
How long after the shoot do we get our photos?
My rule of thumb is, basically, I’ll never take as long to get your images to you as it took you to make your selections. If you’re a few days, I’ll be a few days. If you are months getting your picks to me, I won’t have the same pressure for a quick turnaround and may get a couple more weddings out the door first. I can tell you that the more people you have helping you make the final selections, the longer the process will take. I’m not suggesting that you cut people out of the process, it just know that if you have several families making picks with you, this whole process usually takes a month or more…as there’s always that one person!
What should we wear?
If you look nice when looking in the mirror, you’ll look nice in photos!
I never mind if a little one decide to dress themselves. It may not fit with your vision…but 20 years from now, your fave photos will be the ones where you se personality, including in the outfits they chose.
But avoid busy prints, loud patterns, clashing colours, etc.
Also, dress for the weather. You may think it’s super cute having your little one in light summer dress in the sun on the beach but if it’s a cold morning at the beach, she will be cold…and cranky. Or you love her hair down and flowing…but it may be (will be) blowing around at the beach so put it up in a braid or bring a barrette, etc.
It’s another reason why I’m not a huge fan of outdoor winter shoots - mommas don’t seem to like shoots in big winter jackets and mittens so they have the kids and dad shed them each time we want to get another shot…but not only do they get cold quick…but dress shirts in the snow just doesn’t look natural or comfortable.
What if my kids are sick?
Please don’t move forward with a shoot is you have sick kids. First off, I don’t want to ring anything home to my family but, more importantly, you won’t be happy with the photos. Kids will be fussy if they are young and makes my job of getting smiles and laughter much harder. But not only that, they will look sick. I’ve done so many shoots where momma says while looking through the proof gallery, “I would have picked more but my little one looks sick - as there anything you can do about her red eyes? Can you address her runny nose? It’s too bad she’s not smiling - she’s usually so happy!”
I had a shoot about a decade ago that was late by nearly an hour. When they finally arrived, I find out her little one fell and split his lip. After the shoot, upon seeing the proofs, she didn’t want many because “he wasn’t smiling’”. Since then, when I find in this same situation, I outright cancel the shoot and reschedule.
When it comes right down to it, if you send me a message that morning and tell me your little one is being fussy and you’re looking to reschedule - I’ll be very supportive of this decision.
Where is a good location for a shoot?
I like beach shoots but I actually, rarely actually go down to the sand. Rainbow Haven and Crystal crescent beach are two stellar locations for the boardwalks, beach grass, wooded areas, beach stones, paths, etc. Rainbow Haven is one of those locations that I can get 200 great proofs for you to choose from with only 15 minutes of shooting - so many great locations handy of the parking lot.
But I would say one of my favourite spots for shooting is Public Gardens. I’m not concerned about how many people there are in the park as I have many locations that work wonderfully without people in the background. And all the trees, flowers, grass - it really is a wonderful location.
But, there are places I don’t shoot. Even if the client wants to do it at a particular location…I never do a shoot with a playground in sight. That gives us only two options; playground photos (which is very, very tricky when there are other children there) or unhappy child photos. Yes, it’s easy to say, “if you do what momma says for the next little bit you can go play on the playground when we’re done”. But reason doesn’t always work with a two year old.
I also don’t shoot in peoples houses. In the past, usually in the winter, I’ve done living room shoots but I nearly always hear the complaint, “I can see my kitchen”, or, “it looks like my living room”. Maybe that was me not properly setting expectations but I’m not bringing sets, etc like the Kardashians for their Christmas cards. It’s a $250 shoot of your family in your living room - I’ll get genuine smiles and laughter but it’s going to look like your family in your living room. Now, I just turn them down or gently push for Spring and do them on grass, flowers and beautiful blurred natural backdrops.
What’s a good time of day for a Family shoot?
Whenever your little ones are the happiest! If it’s 10:00…then let’s plan a shoot for then! The only time of day I avoid is midday in the middle of the summer as that sun is straight overhead. Once We get into September, the sun never really flies overhead and I can easily pop that sun to your backs.
And some locations lend them themselves better to certain times of day. A beach location is best in the early morning or after supper. Yes, the sun isn’t straight overhead at 4:00 but the beach is crowded!
If anyone does wants to do a shoot getting in close to sunset, I’m always pretty firm on them not being late….and with kids, that can be tricky. So I help with this by planing on these shoots far earlier than sunset (if sunset is at 8:00…6:30 is about the latest I’d book a shoot). Yes, that ‘golden hour’ light is beautiful but I’ve had two shoots pull up late…and the sun had already set. I’d rather plan a shoot for an hour or more before sunset and plan those golden hour shots at the end.
One more thing…if they are cranky when they wake from a nap and then need 30 minutes or so to shake it…please don’t let them fall asleep in the car. My heart sinks when I see the family pull up and they start the process of trying to wake the little one from her cozy nap.
How far will I travel for a Family shoot?
Without a fee, I’ll travel about 90 minutes away from Halifax. Outside that, I charge $0.50 per km travelled. So if I’m heading to Liverpool to shoot a family shoot, being about 150km away I’m charging $150 plus tax (I do have to drive home…so 300 km travelled). That covers my gas and the fact that I’m nearly 3 hours in a car for your shoot.