So it just may be that time of year and time to schedule that family photo session for your family, whether you do this yearly in the fall when mini sessions are happening or maybe its the first time in a long time or even ever. Kids are growing and life is just busy and crazy. These next steps might be looming a little bit over you. A great question I would like to ask you, what kind of vision do you have? What do you want to see on your walls in your home? The most important thing with the way that I work and my style is capturing your love and your connection as a family, but some really important keys to adding to those connections is the way the images end up feeling time and time again when you look up at them on your walls.

Talking about the scene, the backdrop the ambiance and the light around you is a very important piece. Northern CA , Bay Area and the Tri valley is all apart of my play ground and I love that we have so many amazing locations. From the ocean to the fields to the trees to the forest, to the rocks and to the rivers and lakes, California is literally a play ground for us photographers. I have some great little coves and special gems and a good few are pretty much here in my backyard in my town of Livermore. But am always up for an adventure to other parts of the bay area, great spots in Fremont, CA and pretty much all over the San Francisco bay area. So lets get to talking and choosing what kind of back drops you love and that work for you. To be honest you can choose to do this in the comfort of your home. I just love a cozy lifestyle session. I also offer sessions in the studio and can be as casual or dressy as you like e. The point here is pick your scene, your backdrop and picture you and your family there, and lets make some memories. The place where all the love happens starts with you and your family in a place that you want to be. I am here to help guide you with any questions. many clients let me know if they want trees or fields and we start there.

The next thing to start thinking about is what to wear? This can be fun or can sometimes be a struggle. I love this part. Being that I am a Family and Lifestyle photographer I always look at style and color and textures, I love texture. Colors can be simple, earthy, or neutrals, (these are also great in the spring) or bold fall colors like burgundy, olive, rust, greys and browns (great for fall sessions). Think mesh not matchy matchy. I strongly suggest if you are going to have patterns, depending on the size of your family, 1 to 2 patterns and add solids meshing the colors with the other family members outfits, too many patterns can compete with the backdrop. Also a huge tip is think textures I love textures they are great especially for those fall sessions, they add so much to the photos and style, you can do this by adding a nice chunky or knitted pullover or open sweater, beanies, bonnets & knee high socks for toddler girls. I like to talk about color ideas when we talk about location and then can start looking at a color palette if we are starting from scratch. Next we can start running through our options from dresses to rompers or to even a simple pair of jeans or leggings or pants. I suggest we aim to be comfortable and not miserable. I love to mix up the colors and add layers, always helps for smaller families as well and adds a different feel and can change up the look ever so lightly. Oh and shoes cannot forget shoes, I suggest keeping neutral colored shoes or boots. I love when it all comes together and we get to our location and and see it all flow, even in the wind when we have weather it can be fun to see the textures moving and everything just flowing. I feel like so much depends on our style and it can really add to the mood and the feel in the photos we capture. I can usually offer dresses from my client closet for most sizes and even some cute toddler girl and boy options, and some girls dresses. There really is so many options to do to style your session. I definitely also have suggestions of where to shop when it comes down to this part. Some as easy and simple as amazon, but also other stores you can actually shop in is H&M or Cotton on and Cotton on kids, Zara, Gap, and even Target. For places you can order things from a favorite of mine is Vici, Jens Pirate Booty, Baltic Born, and Joyfolie, and Free People. For in home lifestyle or in studio photo sessions I suggest lighter colors or earthy tones, denims and meshing your outfits with your family. Things to stay away from would be too much matchy with any color, and def no neons or logos on your shirts and clothing. If you are uncertain of picking colors you can always look at palettes to see what colors will look good together by picking your main color and just looking at some palettes with that color. The styling is fun, and can be a slight pain I do offer styling with all my sessions. There are so many diff vibes we can create with style and color and background, so many little things that contribute to the overall picture. Ask me anything and do not be afraid I am happy to help out.

Once all that business is handled all there is left to do all you have to do is show up and start having fun!!! This really is the most important part here, have fun. Love on each other, cuddle in close, just breathe in the moment and don’t worry about me, dance together, hug eachother tightly, hold each others hand and hold onto the moment, pull one another in and even tickle each other, laugh and giggle or whisper something funny and giggle away. I will always assist with some direction but really just try to snuggle in and look at each other and feel the moment together. Me and the camera will be there but it is there to capture your story and your love. The session can sometimes be a little awkward especially at first, but it will warm up a little after a few minutes. Try this: Think of a word before the session that describes what you wanna see when you picture your images on your walls, and feel a little silly and awkward but really there is no pressure for this to be a certain way just wait for the kiddos to smile, if they don’t just tickle them and hug them, there is no need to always face the camera with a perfect smile, I will get some of those but really just have fun lets capture that moment in your story.