It’s no lie that I love indoor photos, but there’s something special about an outdoor session in spring. Spring is a great time for family photos in the Seattle area. The weather is normally starting to warm up, flowers are in bloom, sunset is at a reasonable time, and spring fashion is so fun. Spring sessions are perfect for families, and maternity sessions, and can be booked directly from my website here.
How to Prepare Your Home for Your In Home Photography Session
The majority of my family sessions are held in home and one of the questions I’m asked the most is how to prepare the home. A lot of Seattle area homes are old with small windows and the number one thing I’m looking for is the quality of the light. If you walk around your home a few days before your scheduled session time, take a look at where the light is the most abundant. These are likely the areas we’ll be using for your photo session.
You don’t need to redecorate or go crazy styling your home. The point of having an in home session is to photograph your family in the space in which they are most comfortable. You will want to keep in mind that anything left out has the potential to make it into your photos, so if you don’t want it photographed, put it out of sight.
Top things to do:
Make beds
Clean up countertops
Open all shades
Turn off overhead lights
Tidy up main living spaces
Make sure any picture frames / artwork are straight
Remove water bottles and phone chargers from bedside tables
Fix any broken windows
Clean mirrors (I use them a lot during my in home family sessions)
Not sure how to prepare your family for your photography session? Read this.
My Top Tips for Traveling to a Warm Weather Destination with your Family
Spring Break is almost here!
Yes, I know I’m a photographer and that is what I’m best at, but if there’s anything I love as much as I love photography, it’s traveling with my family. As many of my photography clients are gearing up for Spring Break, I’d like to share my top tips for traveling to your warm weather destination.
Tip One - Take the overnight flight
Yes, I know, there are many who will disagree with me but overnight flights are the way to go for our family. All four of my kids sleep better on the plane than they do at home and it allows us to arrive to our destination in time to change, take a quick swim, have an early dinner, go to bed at a reasonable hour, then wake up refreshed and ready to go on the first full day of vacation.
Tip Two - Take a portable clothesline:
When you’re heading somewhere warm, you’re more than likely going to be wearing a lot of swimsuits. We travel with a portable clothesline that we set up on our balcony to dry the swimsuits so the kids always have a dry one available.
Tip Three - Go for the All Inclusive
All Inclusives are fantastic for families. Got a picky eater? Order something new if they don’t like the first option. Got a foodie? No need to worry about them ordering the most expensive item on the menu. You can let them try new things. On our last trip to the DR, my kids discovered virgin pina coladas. An all inclusive resort is a great place to try new foods and drinks.
Tip Four - Don’t Pack too much into your Vacation
Heading to a tropical destination normally involves a whole lot of pool/beach time and relaxation time. We try to limit the amount of excursions to two for each week of vacation. This allows you to still get out and explore a new place, but it also gives you plenty of time to relax and enjoy taking a breather.
Tip Five - Travel with Carry On Only
When you’re heading somewhere warm, this is an easy one. You don’t need to carry winter coats or boots so you should be able to fit everything in your carry on. We have our kids take a carry on each and we will split the baby’s stuff between all of our luggage. For a week each kid packs two swimsuits, two pairs of shorts, two t-shirts, one pair of nice pants and a polo (for fancy dinners), a hoodie, and two pairs of pajamas.
A 2022 Wrap Up {Seattle Family Photographer}
What a wonderful year 2022 was. It was filled with lots of familiar faces that I’ve photographed for 6-7 years in a row, as well as several new families I got to meet for the first time. I photographed 46 families and 18 newborns. I did my first lifestyle newborn mentoring session for another photographer, and I started making plans to start a class for parents on how to take better vacation photos (more on that to come later). March and August were my busiest months for newborns, while September and October were my busiest months overall. I was able to return to Fresh 48 sessions which makes me so happy! Here are some of my favorite images for the year. I am so grateful to each and every family who booked a session with me this year. Here’s to a wonderful 2023!
Why You Should Have Your Family Photography Session at Your Home {Seattle Lifestyle Photographer}
I strongly believe that your home is always the perfect backdrop for your family photographs. Here are some of the reasons why:
Your home is warm and cozy
Here in the Seattle area, the winters are long and rainy. By having your family photography session in your home, we will never have to reschedule due to weather, and you don’t need to take your kids out in the cold.
Your kids are more comfortable at home
Your home is your children’s safe space. They feel more comfortable there than any other place on earth. When they’re comfortable, they’re much more likely to cooperate for your family session.
Your home helps tell your story
Most of the time, a beach or park has no real meaning to the family being photographed there. Your home is a part of who you are and helps to tell your story.
You don’t have to drive for a long time to get to a location
All you need to do is be ready when I arrive. I do the traveling so you don’t have to!
It would be an honor to photograph your family in the four walls in which you’re most comfortable!
How to Photograph Your Family Vacation {Seattle Family Photographer}
I make no secret that I adore travel. One of my goals is to show my kids as much as the globe as possible. Opening my kids’ eyes to other cultures is one of the greatest gifts I can give them. Whether you love international travel as much as I do, or a quick weekend road trip is more your style, it’s important to photograph your family on vacation so they have those memories to look back on. Here are my top tips for photographing your family vacations.
Get in the picture:
Mamas, this one is for you. So often, the mom is the family photographer, whether she’s a professional or not. You want your kids to be able to look back at your vacation album and know that you were there too! I always make sure I hand over my camera so that I can be photographed too.
Instead of posing your kids, just photograph them as they are:
When you’re on vacation, kids are there to have fun. Instead of asking them to stop and smile, photograph them playing, building sandcastles, swimming etc.
Don’t forget to photograph the details:
Did you kids build sandcastles? Find a cool seashell? Take pictures of these things since you can’t physically take them home with you.
Use shapes to add interest in your photographs:
I love to use shape to add visual interest in my pictures. In the photograph below, I liked how my son’s drink shape and color matched the spots on the floatie.
Frame your subjects
I love adding framing in my photographs, In the below image, I waited for my son to go under the arch. The arch frames him in, adding more visual interest.
Photograph the environment
You choose your destination for a reason. Don’t forget to stand back and photograph your family enjoying it!
Photograph your kids trying new foods/drinks
One of the things I love most about traveling is exposing my kids to new foods. I’m lucky that most of my kids are excited to try new things. I always make sure I photograph this.
Try for a couple of group images
I know my tip was to photograph them playing, but it’s always nice to get a group image of all your kids together.
Don’t forget about your lodgings:
Whether you’re staying in a hotel, a tent, or an Airbnb, you’ll be spending a lot of time there, so make sure it makes your vacation album.
Framing
I mentioned above that I like to “frame” my subjects. Get creative with this. What can you use to frame your subjects. Here are some more examples:
Photograph differences between the place you’re visiting and home
Are you in a new country? Photograph their flag, or new foods, or anything that is unique to that place.
New activities and adventures
I’m sure this is one you’re already doing, but make sure you take a few photographs of any fun or new adventures you’re having. My kids had an unexpected horse ride on the beach so I made sure I photographed that.
I hope this inspires you to photograph your next vacation. It doesn’t matter whether you use a DSLR, a mirrorless camera or your phone. It’s just important to take the pictures! For what it’s worth, all my vacation pictures were taken with a camera I bought specifically for traveling. It is the Fujifilm x100v. It’s super lightweight and small and easily fits in my handbag. It has a fixed length lens, which is fine for me as I’m used to photographing with a prime lens. I also felt much safer not taking my professional camera on vacation with us.
How to Choose the Right Photographer for Your Family Photo Session {Seattle Family Photographer}
Choosing the right photographer for your family photography session can feel like a daunting task, especially in a larger city like Seattle where it seems there are a ton of options. By writing this, I hope I can help you narrow down the search a little more.
Where do you want your session?
Are you looking to have your session at home? At a local beach or park? Or do you want an adventure up a mountain somewhere? By choosing where you want your session, you’ll be able to start searching for a photographer who does sessions in the place you’re most interested in.
Do you want a posed session where everyone looks at the camera or do you prefer to be photographed engaging with your kids?
All photographers have a style. Many will photograph families perfectly posed, and others, myself included, take a more lifestyle approach and photograph the parents playing and snuggling with their children. Once you decide if you want a posed session or a lifestyle session, you can narrow down your search even further.
Do you want your images to be light and airy, dark and moody, or somewhere in between?
Photographers each have a unique editing style. Look over photographers’ portfolios to see if their editing style is inline with the vision you have for your photo session.
Get to know them
Having a photographer come into your home (if that’s where you choose to have your session) can be a very personal experience. Follow them on Instagram, read their about page on their website. Is this someone you would feel comfortable with posing you or being in your home?
I hope this will help narrow down your search. For the record, I take a more lifestyle approach and while I do a handful of outdoor family sessions over the summer and fall, my passion is in home photography. My editing style leans a little more light and airy and I feel like I’m a pretty fun person to be around :) It would be an honor to be chosen for your family photos.
What is Lifestyle Photography?
“Don’t shoot what it looks like, shoot what it feels like” - David Alan Harvey
Lifestyle photography falls somewhere in the middle between a completely journalistic photography style and a smile-and-look-at-the-camera posed style. Lifestyle photography captures families loving on one another while still being somewhat directed by the photographer. The majority of my lifestyle sessions take place in your home. Newsflash - you do not need a newborn to have an in-home session! That seems to be a common misconception. Many people think that in-home sessions are for newborns and outdoor sessions are for families with older kids, but I have photographed many families in their own homes with breathtaking results. There are many reasons why I love in-home sessions but one of the major reasons why I love shooting in-home is because that’s where you’re most comfortable, and when you feel comfortable, it shows in your images.
When I arrive, I will take a quick walk around your house to determine where the best light is. Once that’s complete, I’ll slowly get out my camera while chatting with your kids until they feel comfortable with me. A lot of people feel awkward having their photo taken. Please know that this is completely normal! My goal is to make this as relaxing as possible. I will always help guide you into position, however, I’m not going to ask you to look and smile at me. Once you’re in position, I’m going to ask you to look down at your kids, tickle them (if that’s their thing), snuggle with them, read to them, play with them. This will help create meaningful images that show your kids how much they are loved.
How should you prepare your house for an in-home session? First of all, your house doesn’t have to be perfect. You have kids, it should look like they live there, however, please keep in mind that anything left out has the potential to be photographed. If you don’t want it in your images, put it away. I usually use the main bedroom, living room and kids rooms / nursery so if you want to tidy up, focus on those areas.
What should you wear to your in home session? I recommend that all family members are barefoot. I will have you sit on your bed, or snuggle on the couch, places where you wouldn’t normally wear shoes. It’s also easier for you that way because it’s one less thing to worry about! I have an online styling service for all my families and you are more than welcome to use it to pull together outfits. You can be as casual or as dressed up as you like. The most important thing is that you’re comfortable!
Any questions? Reach out! I’d love to chat with you.
Little Kids + Golden Hour {Everett Family Photographer}
If you’re thinking about a summer family session, you may be concerned that keeping your little ones up until sunset will be to tough for your family. The sun sets late here in the Seattle area in the height of summer, and many parents share this concern. Here are some tips to help you make your family session go as smoothly as possible when it’s later than bedtime:
Plan for a quiet day. Your session day shouldn’t be spent rushing around running errands, playing at trampoline parks or participating in hours of sports. Instead, try activities like reading, doing puzzles or snuggling on the couch.
Let your kids sleep in if they want to. Today is the day to avoid waking them up at their normal time. If you normally need to wake them for daycare or school, try not to keep them on their normal routine and let them sleep as long as they will.
If your kids still nap, try to push their nap out further into the day. While it may seem like your ruining their routine, one day won’t do much damage. If your kids don’t nap, try having some “quiet time” by reading books in bed or just resting for a few minutes.
To avoid them getting hungry during the session, bring a snack for them to eat right before we start. You may want to avoid changing them into their photo session outfits until after they’ve finished their snack.
Kids are often distracted in a new place, particularly if we’re photographing them in a new outdoor location. If they’re normally grumpy and having meltdowns at bedtime at home, they will more than likely be so distracted in a new place and by doing something outside of their normal routine, that they don’t even notice they should be sleeping.
Lastly, please remember that if you really want that beautiful golden summer light, that keeping them up past their bedtime will totally be worth if and every time you see your images on the wall, you’ll think about how beautiful they are, rather than the one day you skipped your normal routine.
If you’d like to schedule a summer session, please contact me here. I would be so honored to work with you.
The Sweetest Love Story {Edmonds Family Photographer}
It has been such an honor to photograph this beautiful family for the third time. You may recognize them from their prior newborn sessions. You can read about their first two newborn sessions here and here.
We met on a beautiful evening in Discovery Park for their maternity session. The temperature was perfect and the sun was shining. The best time for outdoor family sessions is the hour before sunset, but with young kids and being in the height of summer, this can be hard. We opted for an earlier session time, and thankfully, Discovery Park has enough shade to make this possible. Discovery Park is one of my favorite locations for many reasons, but one of the best is because of how versatile it is. There is shade for non-golden hour times, there are views of the water, a giant field to run around in, trees, old buildings, a beach and long grass. It really doesn’t get much better than this.
This session was bursting with love, just the same way every other session I’ve done for them has been. Isn’t it amazing how your heart just seems to grow with love for each child? This is what I can see happening each time this family welcomes a new baby into their lives. Their hearts expand and it’s so beautiful to be able to witness.
When this mama contacted me for her maternity session, she said she envisioned bare feet, a flowy dress and tall grass. I’m so honored that we were able to do her maternity session exactly how she envisioned.
If you’re expecting a new little baby in your family and would love to document this time, please contact me here. It would be an honor to photograph you as you wait for your newest family member.
