Have you recently booked a session with me and have questions about how you can prepare yourself for the session? Well, you’ve come to the right blog post! My god, I sound like a night time TV infomercial..

None the less, I’m here to give you some tips and to answer a few common questions to help prepare you and your family for your upcoming session!

Most common question: What should we wear?

And it’s a great question! Some people may already have an idea and have envisioned what each of you would wear and if that’s you-awesome! If not, here are a few tips to help you decide:

Choose a colour scheme that you think would go well with the season, for example fall, a nice burnt orange and burgundy, and have everyone in your family coordinate with that. That way, not everyone will be matching but there will be a flow and blend well together! For example, try matching those colours with their complimentary colour. Like a burnt orange and dark navy!
If you want to all wear the same colour, I always suggest to do so in a subtle way. Maybe if the guys are all in different shades grey and the women in different shades of red! Or Adults in white and kids in blue's. It's also nice when you're all wearing the same colour but in different shades and patterns.
For couples I always suggest to not wear the same colours but wear colours that compliment each other. For example, yellow and blue or stick to a neutral colour palette like gray, white and black.
Avoid wearing clothing with big logos on them. We want the focus to be on all of you! Not the brands you’re wearing.
If you're not sure about wearing a jacket or a scarf in the colder months, I'd suggest bringing it with you. You can do a few with and a few without!
One last important suggestion is that you all try to match in terms of the dress code. If you’re going to be wearing a nice dress, I’d suggest that your family copy that dress code vs them being in a more relax attire.
To help you get a visual I’ve created a Pinterest board to show a few examples and maybe get your mind thinking of possible outfits!

What to expect during the session?

During every session I try to do a good mix of candid and posed photos. I make sure to get a good mix of the two. When it is time to do the posed photos, don’t stress too much of what the other person may look like. I try my best to just let moments happen and that way it allows me to guide you both properly!
If you’re posing with kids or with your pets it’s important to not look at them during the photos, let me focus on them and getting their attention because often times they’ll be looking at me and you’re in the mists of talking to them and the shot doesn’t work.
Don’t be afraid of movement during the session. I remember thinking when I posed for photos “don’t move, don’t breath” but in fact, it’s the opposite. I want you to be comfortable and having movement makes them look more natural and encourages more natural moments!
Very important, I ask that you actually don't warn the kids to always smile at me too much, this will make them a little bit more relaxed with me. I'd like for everyone to be comfortable and act themselves during the session! This allows me to get the best candid moments.
If you have any ideas for poses, don't hesitate at all to show them to me or suggest ideas. These are after all, for you! I won't be insulted. If you have no suggestions, not to worry, I'll guide you!
If you're bringing your little fur babies along with you for the session, I suggest bringing a few treats or a toy that I can distract them with! If we are going to a public park don't forget poop bags!
For outdoor family sessions, I don’t typically bring props. If you think that you’d like to include a prop or will need chairs for family photos, feel free to bring them! A nice neutral coloured blanket is also not a bad idea to do some shots on the ground!

We’ve booked the session but we don’t know where we’d like to go to take the photos, do you have any recommendations for locations?

I sure do! I wrote a blog about my favourite go to locations around Ottawa for engagement sessions, which would also work great for family sessions! I’ll try to keep this blog updated with new locations I find around the Ottawa area. I’m always willing and excited to go to new locations if there is somewhere that is meaningful to your family as well!

What to expect after the session?

In general, it takes me about two weeks to edit your photos, 3 weeks at the most during extra busy seasons. At that point, you’ll receive a link to your own temporary gallery to download and share with your family the photos from our session! Each photo will have a colour and black & white copy as well. You can also purchase prints directly from that gallery. I do however, try to get sneak peaks out to you the following day of the session because I know how excited everyone is to see the photos!

You’re pretty much all set now but if you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! Some questions may not have been answered in this blog post or even if you want to ask my opinion on your outfits, just send me a message!