What to expect – family photography

The first thing we’ll do when you decide you want to book me is to agree a date, time, and location.

If you have somewhere particular in mind we’ll have a chat about it, but if not there are several places I can recommend.

The main thing is good light, which is vital so we can showcase your family at its best.

If you’re not in Edinburgh, don’t worry, talk to me – I love getting round and about and am very often happy to travel!

You’ll get an electronic invoice for my session fee when we put you in the diary, then all you have to do is pay by card. It’s really easy and quick, then when you select products afterwards, you just pay for them separately when you order, debiting the amount of the session fee.

At the same time you’re invoiced for the session fee, you’ll get my electronic contract. You don’t have the time to be faffing with bits of paper and having to send them back to me through the post, so all you have to do is open my email with the link to my contract, read what it says, and if you’re happy, just click “sign”. If you’re not, just phone me and we’ll talk about it.

Once your invoice for the session fee has been settled and you’ve signed the contract, it gets a bit more fun!

You’ll get my “What to Wear” and style guide checklist, because I know figuring out what clothes to pick for your session can be daunting.

But remember, you’re not on your own here. I know what looks good in photographs and I really want you to do everything you can to maximise how much you enjoy looking at them for many years afterwards.

So you end up with the very best images possible, I place great importance on discussing your session with you beforehand.

It gives me the chance to find out about you and your family, what ideas we both have for the images, and how we can create them together. You’ll tell me what you want … And what you don’t want! We can also discuss clothing, as this is something which can really make or break your portraits.

Without a good chat before your session I can’t guarantee my images will meet your satisfaction, so I do require we have this consultation in advance.

Many photographers are happy with just sending out a questionnaire for you to complete before your photography session but I simply don’t think this is enough. My clients always love talking through ideas beforehand, and it’s included in your session fee, so don’t miss it!

We can either do this over the phone or face to face; if it turns out we don’t live too far apart I’m happy to pop round to see you.

We’ll start by finding a spot with great light and take the slightly more posed group photographs there.

Don’t shudder when you see the word “posed” – it’s honestly not hard, and I’ll show you what to do! And if your children are small, don’t worry, we’ll make sure this doesn’t take too long.

Then after we’ve got all the groupings you’d like, we can just move off, go for a wee wander, and as you enjoy some time out with your family, I’ll capture those moments for you when children are busy just being themselves – climbing trees, playing hide-and-seek, or splashing in puddles… Whatever they love doing!

Natural looking portraits come from photographing the moment as it is, rather than directing too much.

I know you'll be excited to see your images, and I usually have them ready for you in around a fortnight. 

We'll arrange a convenient time I can come round to see you to show you your photographs on my laptop, which I can hook up to your TV so you get an even better look at them. Beautiful images deserve to go large!

Then it's time to decide which images you would like to purchase and how you would like them displayed. What kind of frames? What size? Will you have prints and digitals too? I'll guide you through the selection process - it's fairly straightforward although it's often very hard to decide which of your photographs you really want to keep!

This takes as long or as short a time as you like - there's no time pressure because I want you to be absolutely delighted with the choice of images you purchase. To get your artwork as quickly as possible, you just pay at the ordering session using my card reader.

Once I've received your wall art from my suppliers, I arrange a time to come round to yours with it.

I love this bit! 

Because then I get to see your face when you open it. 

And I think you'll love this bit too.

The peace that comes with seeing beautiful images on your walls and albums created over the years of the people who mean the most to you is absolutely priceless.

Reminders of the good times together, the deep connection and love you share as a family, so often lost in the daily grind.

Stop for a moment, slow down, take yourself back to those moments of love and fun you see immortalised in print, on your walls. Feel a smile soothe and warm your frantically ticking mind.

There. Affirmation right there, on your walls of your home, that, actually? You’ve got this. You ARE doing a great job.