Planning your in home or on location session

Let’s document your family as every family has a story to tell.

WHY YOU SHOULD GET PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS

I believe that having family photographs of the various events that occur in your life to be one of the greatest gifts for you and your family.

Photographs and videos of important milestones in your life such as when you were expecting, holding your newborn and your toddler exploring the world are memories that you will want to cherish and look back on forever.

I heard the saying “they grow up so fast”, it was hard to understand that saying until we had children of our own. Now having printed photographs, albums and videos to look back on has become one of our boys favourite things to do. We love it so much that every New Year’s eve we watch videos of the past year and look at pictures as part of our New Year’s celebration.

One day, I want you to have photographs of yourself, so you aren’t always behind the camera. I want your children to also see themselves on the wall. One of my favourite sayings is “you should exist in photographs”, this should be at any time in your life as your children don’t care what you look like. They just want to see pictures of you and them together.

OUR STEP BY STEP PLAN FOR MAKING YOUR SESSION GREAT

Don’t worry! We will be planning this together! The first thing I need is for you to fill out the questionnaire. That way we can plan the type of session you envision. It will help me understand a little more about your family and also what your plans are for the photographs we capture. For example, will you want to display them on a wall, give any away as gifts or will you be keeping your images in albums to enjoy? Once the questionnaire is filled out we will arrange a conference call or an in-person meeting to discuss. After our consultation you can reference the session information here to review some of what we discussed.

Listed below are the steps:

Why Lifestyle?

LIFESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY: maternity (seeds), newborn (peanuts), children (sprouts) and families (pods).

A lifestyle session is a style of portrait and people photography which aims to capture and document real-life events, situations, or milestones in an artistic manner and capturing you and your family in your everyday life. With two children of my own and a photography career I have lots of practice posing children and families. I understand that children want to be kids and it is hard for them to sit there, pose and say “cheese” over and over.

YOUR HOME

In the event that you would like to do a session at your home there are some things you can do prior to our session to make it go as smoothly as possible. Where are a few of your favourite places to hang out as a family? Do you have a favourite area in the house that you spend the most time in? We can tailor some of our photographs to be focused in these locations. Prior to our session I’ll have you take one or two photographs in your home around the time of day we will be having our session. Once I review them I can make any suggestions of items that should be placed aside to help keep the images as clutter free as possible. A fresh bunch of flowers is a nice treat for you and also looks great in pictures!

HOW TO PREPARE

The best way to prepare is to complete the questionnaire online, over the phone or in person. In addition, if we’ve decided on an in-home session then ensure the selected rooms are free of clutter.

Once I arrive I ask the children to take me to their bedrooms and show me around. This makes the children comfortable and gets them excited to “help” me while we take photographs. I then start with one of the activities we have discussed; for example reading a book, as then you engage with the kids without them having to be posing right from the start.

As a mother of two boys I understand children and it is my job to interact with them, keep them excited and move between children if one of them has lost interest. I want to leave the session with you thinking, “that was a lot more fun than I thought possible!”

WHAT TO WEAR?

Usually the first question I get asked is “what do we wear?” The part I love about lifestyle photography is that clients can incorporate their style both in terms of their clothing and home decor into the photographs. For locations outside of the home I also tend to follow these same rules.

1. I always encourage my clients to select clothing they feel comfortable in and that communicates their style. I recommend starting from a neutral palate. I find busy patterns or t-shirts with logos can be distracting and can date the photographs. Neutrals do not have to mean a plain white t-shirt for everyone. Some of my recommendations would be light greys, blues, creams, ivory, soft pinks, etc. I suggest that the colors compliment each other therefore, if one person is wearing a cream shirt and jeans then the other should not be wearing a black shirt. Ideally, there would be between three and four colors including denim in a group setting. Don’t be afraid to add plaid, stripes and floral’s as they often work great in photographs.

2. If it is cold outside don’t be afraid of layering your clothing. Scarves, hats and gloves can be used as accessories.
Try to avoid ski type jackets and
go for the pea coat or a more stylish look.

3. I love fabric that moves or has texture such as lace, as it makes for interesting photographs. I typically photograph light colored clothing on a light background and dark colored clothing on a dark background.

4. The benefit of being in your home is that you can incorporate objects that have meaning.

Whether it
is a knitted blanket, quilted throw or your neutral color palette.

TIPS FOR YOUR SESSION

Tips!

- Don’t worry! Have fun! Kids get grumpy and dads sometimes get cranky but we can work around that. It’s okay, it’s my job to guide you and to work through any situation that arises.
- I recommend that you lay out your clothes the night before. That way, you are ready and organized for the morning so you don’t have to stress.
- Create a list to help you remember what we discussed and what you need to bring
- Music…if you and your family have a favourite album you want played, let me know and we can make that happen
- What makes your child giggle? Let me know as it helps me engage with the children.
- Have fun and trust that I’ll make recommendations when needed

“Sabrina has been taking our family photos for years. Her approach puts the kids at ease; enabling her to capture their unique personalities and smiles. We treasure the memories she helps us capture. We highly recommend Sabrina, you won’t be disappointed.” - Jennifer

“Sabrina did a great job photographing our family (including 2 energetic boys, a crazy boxer and a reluctant husband). She was patient, and easy going which made the whole experience painless. It was wonderful to have someone to capture my children as the individuals they are. My mother-in-law also commented that she managed to get some great photos of my husband genuinely smiling (not just the fake-for-the-camera smile). Thanks Sabrina!!” - Erin

QUESTIONNAIRE

Please take a few minutes to review the information below. You can either fill out the form or if you prefer we can always
have a brief chat on the phone or meeting in person to discuss.

Name

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Phone

(###)

###

####

What kind of session are you looking for?

For example, maternity, newborn, child, family or portrait.

Do you have a particular location in mind?

For example, an indoor or outdoor photoshoot, a session at my home or yours.

How did you hear about me?

What does your child/children like to play with?

Does your child/children need time warming up?

Does your child/children nap? If so, when? (We can style around these times if you like)

Do you want a sunset session? The light is warmer at the end of the day however there are limited spots for sunset sessions.

Yes

No

Do you have pets? If so, what type and do you want them in the photographs?

What do the kids like to do with Dad?

What do the kids like to do with Mom?

What is your child/children’s favourite colours?

What are your favourite colors?

Do you have a special item given to your child/children that you would like to be incorporated in the photographs?

(for example, a quilted blanket, special toy, etc.)