Child & Family Session Info

WHAT STYLE OF PHOTOGRAPHS DO YOU TAKE?
I photograph outdoors portraits or environmental home portraits, with lots of natural light. This is a bright, vibrant and natural looking portrait. My focus is to photograph you in a natural, candid, and beautiful way. It’s not about getting a picture for the Christmas card, or posing your newborn in a basket, or any iteration of the word “cheese.”  It’s about capturing your family in a fun, relaxed, candid way.

WHAT SHOULD WE WEAR?
When choosing clothing for family portraits, the first step is to select a wardrobe style & color palette. You can do this by viewing our What to Wear Pinterest Board and picking a color and style. To pick your style, think in terms of themes… JCrew preppy, feminine and worldly Anthropologie, bohemian Lucky Brand. Decide the style and look you want your session to feel like. And then buy something new for that shoot!

Then pick your color palette. Often colors such as all neutrals, beige, denim, grey, can be soft and romantic, and invoke a Restoration Hardware catalog. Or perhaps you pick a pink and grey color palette, or a holiday reds and greens. It’s best to pick no more than 3-5 colors and stick within that palette. For example: light denim, tan, ivory and dark denim.  Images have depth when you layer varying shades of the same color, such as varying shades of neutral, cremes and beiges, or shades of denim, indigo and purple like the image above.

Solid colors tend to look best. And try breaking up each outfit, by coordinating a light colored top with a darker colored pant, or break-up a light colored shirt with a darker colored cardigan. I also recommend not wearing a shorter skirt. The poses that we can do, will be severely limited, and we want to capture you and your family doing fun things, sitting on the ground, and playing.

Marin Family Photography What to Wear to Family Portrait Session

Once you’ve picked your style and color palette. I recommend starting by picking your outfit first! Then layer and add on other family members. If you’re shopping in a store, enlist the help of the sales person! It’s OK to bring in something you’ve bought at another store and ask their help to find something that would pair well. They’re more than happy to help you find outfits that would compliment. Some stores for kids that I recommend that often have sizing from infant all the way up to bigger kids, which can be helpful when you’re trying to coordinate, are Gymboree, Gap, Target, and Carters. And if you’re shopping online, consider buying a pre-styled outfit you see on their front page.

Layering accessories such as hats, scarves, suspenders and belts in coordinating colors adds texture and depth. And once you have all the pieces at home, hang them all up and make sure you like they way they all go together, as if they were one outfit. Jeans, corduroys, overalls, and sundresses are classics for children and photograph well.

HOW DO WE CHOOSE A LOCATION?
During our Pre-Session Phone Chat, we will talk about location ideas. whether you want greenery, the beach, rustic woods, urban modern, or simply at home. If an outside venture is in your sights, I’ll then send you a custom Location Scouting Board with ideas of locations that fit the mood, look and driving distance you want.

The location is secondary; the feeling is primary. So we try to not only pick a pretty location, but somewhere that your family will feel inspired, comfortable, and excited to explore. I find being outside in nature, away from buzzing toys or technology, can be a great way to photograph your family. However, that is not to say that a beautiful session can not be captured at home. Quite contrary, if your little ones tend to feel uncomfortable in new places, being at home, can be a safe place to play in front of the camera. With at home sessions, I often follow your family around your home, doing the little things that you do daily. From the quirky way your child dances in front of the mirror, to the cuddles with their favorite teddy, an at home session, although different from our outdoor sessions, is a beautiful way to capture this moment in your family’s story.

Family Portrait Locations In Marin | San Francisco Family Photography Location Scouting

WHEN CAN WE SCHEDULE OUR SESSION?
I typically have Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays available to schedule sessions, and weekends fill up fast, so please contact me early if a weekend session is a must. During the summer months sessions can easily begin late afternoon/evening if it works for your family. For the Fall Season we’re often booked a couple months in advance, as many of my repeat families contact me late summer to put their session on the calendar. If you family has a special day request, please feel free to let me know and we’ll do our best to schedule around that.

I HAVE QUESTIONS OR WOULD LIKE TO BOOK, WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?
Send me an e-mail by clicking on the following link to my Contact Page Form. Please do not make inquiries by phone text, Facebook or Instagram. As a Mom, I’m only in the office certain days of the week, because the other days I’m spending with my amazing little boy! But I will get back to you as soon as I’m back in the office. From there we will set-up a Pre-Session Phone Chat, where I can answer any questions you might have, so that we can get to know each other a bit and discuss the details for the session. We’ll talk about your goals for the shoot, my approach, your style preferences, so that I can make suggestions on how to style your session, where and when to shoot, etc.  And if you’d like to book at that time, then we can go ahead and schedule the booking.

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PORTRAIT SESSION PRICING? 
Just click here on the following Link to view our session fees.