When Should I Schedule My Family Photos at Home?
So many people wait until the fall to take family photos. I used to be one of them. I had always assumed that since it was so close to when we sent out holiday cards, it was natural to get them right before that.
If you have a little one that is very little, (less than 1 years old), you may want to go ahead and get photos in the fall no matter what, because they change so much at that age. If you take photos when they are 4 months old, but by the time you send out holiday cards, they are 10 months old, that’s a big difference.
With the exception of that circumstance, when people ask me ‘when should I schedule my family photos at home?’, I answer ‘it depends!’
Think about the times in your lives where you are happiest in your home. Times that you associate some of your best memories with. Once you’ve found those memories in your mind and figured out what season they correspond to, THAT is when you should schedule your in-home photoshoot.
Here are some of my favorite things about each season:
Winter Family Photos at Home
The weather is cozy, and the days are short. That means we can light a fire, make a pillow fort, and snuggle in blankets and sweaters for your photoshoot. If you celebrate Christmas and have a tree, I love getting photos in front of it.
Spring Family Photos at Home
Everything is blooming, and while the sun shines sometimes, the rain is also here in the Bay Area. We can be flexible with the weather and if you want, we can dance in the rain in your wellies outside of your house, or wait for a sunny spring day and celebrate with the blooms in your backyard.
The family pictured below has a vineyard on their property and we celebrated their season of re-growth with a springtime session.
Summer Family Photos at Home
This is my favorite time for photos personally, because I’m a big gardener. We can pick flowers and tomatoes and herbs from your garden, or have fresh fruit as a snack from the farmer’s market encorporated into your session.
This Marin family spends most of their time outdoors, so we made their garden a huge focal point for the photos. I am a San Francisco photographer, though, so be warned that summer is also the foggiest, so we may still be picking tomatoes with sweaters on.
Fall Family Photos at Home
For my San Francisco dwellers, this is Indian Summer and a perfect time to get outside in your garden and backyard. For everyone else, you can decorate your home with pumpkins, maybe bust out your kid’s Halloween costume for a few photos, and capture any seasonal foliage you have in your yard. This is the busiest time of year for photographers everywhere, so make sure you book early if this is your chosen season!
If you are based in the Bay Area and are looking for a Marin or San Francisco photographer, I’m your gal!