the details
Types of Sessions
A Story at Sunset:
A Story at Sunset and A Story by the Sea are photo sessions based on a desire for more soulful, artistic portraits. The intent of this session is not to simply update yearly portraits, although they’re great for that too, but rather to focus our lens in such a way as to better weave together what's unique about your family and children. A Story Session is more interactive, not just striving for a cheesy grin. Story sessions are photographed in the golden hour of sunset. They are the perfect session for those more important milestones or that one very special family portrait. Story sessions might be able to accommodate a change of clothing, depending on the location chosen. Wardrobe is an important part of making sure we achieve the right "feel" for this session -- a wardrobe consultation is recommended, and please also read wardrobe guidelines below.
Story Sessions last 60-90 minutes and typically produce 25-30 shots from which to make your portrait selections.
A Story at Sunset sessions book several months in advance and are extremely limited due to the nature of these sessions.
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General Sessions:
These sessions will suit most clients' needs to update portraits a couple times of year. Examples of good general sessions are: birthday portraits of young kids, a quick updated family portrait, the kids together in their summer clothes, dance pictures, etc. General Sessions are photographed either In-Studio (not recommended for children over the age of 2 years old) or on one of our predetermined Day at the Park dates. These sessions do not accommodate a change of clothing.
General sessions last about 30 minutes, and typically produce 15-20 shots from which to make your portrait selections.
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Newborn Sessions:
Newborn sessions are for infants less than 18 days old. For your convenience, we offer two different types of newborns sessions.
Petite Newborn--
A petite newborn session is a relatively quick shoot (in newborn terms). It is a session for baby only, no sibling or parent shots are taken. Most portraits will show a swaddled baby, there are no "bare bottom" shots in this session, and the set changes are very limited.
Petite Newborn sessions last about 60 minutes, and typically produce 12-15 shots from which to make your portrait selections.
Custom Newborn--
A custom newborn session is the full newborn experience. It can be a baby only shoot, or siblings and parents may be added for a few shots. There will be ample time to get baby settled in and sleeping soundly so that they don't have to be swaddled the whole time. This option can also include naked baby shots. A Custom Newborn session includes several set changes and will show considerably more variety than a petite session.
Custom Newborn sessions last about 3-4 hours, and typically produce 25-30 shots from which to make your portrait selections.
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Limited Edition Sessions:
Limited Edition sessions are available several times throughout the year and may include opportunities such as stylized sets, holiday sessions or abbreviated sessions in the park. An example of a Limited Edition session is our Dear Santa shoot- which is a one day only event. Due to the nature and exclusivity of these events, all limited edition sessions will book extremely quickly. For instance, our Dear Santa sessions book solid almost a year in advance.
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Wardrobe Recommendations:
Ultimately this is your photography shoot and you need to love what your children and family are wearing. But the test of a successful wardrobe selection won't come today or tomorrow or even next year, it'll be 10 years from now when you're nostalgically staring at that portrait of your children when they were just little ones. Take the time to get the details right....
As a general guideline, classic neutrals with a vintage or European feel will yield a timeless portrait that will never go out of style. It can't be stressed enough how much accessories will pull a look together-- so absolutely do not overlook the importance of scarves, head wraps, hair ties, tie backs, boot socks, suspenders, page boy hats, etc. When picturing timeless styles, reference children's clothing from the 1910s through the 1940s. These are classic children's styles, and photograph beautifully. For family portraits, start by choosing your color palette and work out from there. Autumn colors (creams, browns, denim, deep reds, oranges, mustard yellow, etc) photograph well, but when in doubt, keep it to the more classic and neutral palette (cream, tan, grey/blue, denim, peach/mauve, etc) advised above. Some printed patterns are fine, but not multiple and competing patterns. For family portraits, make the children the focal point by putting them in a soft pattern, and the adults in solid colors with an accessory that pulls the whole look together.
Don't make everyone too matchy-matchy, and please say NO to the standard of white polo shirts and khaki pants!
Samples for BOYS Samples for GIRLS
Color Palettes for Family Portraits
