I promise I won’t make you say cheese!
First thing’s first, a family portrait shoot is incredible fun. If you’ve never had one done before then you really should; round up your mum, dad, the kids, the grandparents, even bring along your pets if you want to! I’ll take your family into the great outdoors and capture some beautiful family portraits for you that you’ll treasure forever.
I confess to not being a huge fan of shooting in a studio, that white background has never really done anything for me. I remember taking my twin boys for a family shoot about 7 years ago (before I set up my photography business) and I found the whole thing rather stressful. Granted, at the time my boys were only 18 months old so they weren’t particularly cooperative, I spent most of the time trying to keep them still hoping they’d look towards the camera. In my experience, children are more comfortable outside so their naturally inquisitive nature can shine through – they’ll pick up leaves and twigs, point at birds in the trees, throw stones into streams, feed the ducks…it’s just miles more fun and I honestly think I get better, more natural photographs when doing a family portrait shoot outdoors.
A successful family photo shoot will involve input from you and me, sure I’ve already got plenty of suitable locations that I know, I’ve already got loads of ideas for cool shots but I really love it when my customers come to me with ideas themselves, I love it when they suggest locations for the shoot, I love it when they talk about costumes and props. I strongly believe that the best shoots are the result of both parties getting involved.
I’ve found that photo shoots with smaller babies (0-6 months) tend to be more successful indoors as they’ve not got the often cold weather to deal with, plus it’s sometimes easier to capture shots inside using things like beds as props. A home or garden shoot is sometimes preferable so of course, I can accommodate this for you.
I charge £179 for a family shoot; for this you get a shoot lasting around 2 hours and as a general rule I deliver approximately 20 fully edited images on a USB stick. Some photographers charge a lower sitting fee but will then charge you extra for each image you want, there is nothing wrong with that particular business model but I prefer to charge a set fee so you know in advance what the cost to you will be.
I also sell beautifully designed gift vouchers so you can give the gift of a family shoot for Christmas or a birthday present.
So what about getting prints of your photos? I don’t include prints in my family shoot packages as it’d mean I’d have to charge you more money and I want to keep my prices as affordable as possible so I only charge for my time. There are a couple of professional photo labs that I recommend to my customers; now I have nothing against the likes of Boots, Asda, Max Spielman etc but if you are going to invest in a professional photographer to take your family photos then I strongly believe you should get the images printed by a professional photo lab. My two favourite professional labs are Sheffield based Peak Imaging and Whitewall who operate from Berlin, Germany. Both of these labs provide prints of exceptional quality on a variety of paper stocks and canvases, to give you a rough idea of cost, they both charge around £11 for an A3 sized print which you can then pop in a frame yourself to suit your tastes and home decor. Give them a go, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
So there you go, please feel free to have a nosey through my family portrait shoot portfolio…get in touch if you want to book me…I promise not to make you say cheese!
ALL of these are so beautiful and precious too! The outdoors does seem a perfect setting for these families! I love the whole idea of that:) Nice….
Thanks Jacqueline, I love the outdoors…great exercise too! 🙂
Really beautiful photos Steve. I especially love the one with the child, the dog and the pumpkin!
Thank you Noelle, very kind of you to say so. 🙂
Beautiful photos. I like outdoor backgrounds for family photos.
Thanks for taking the time to read, Donna. Much appreciated.
What at heart warming photo of the father with the baby. And the black and white seems to make it so much warmer than color might have. The outdoors photos are beautiful – what glorious colors you captured. Thanks for sharing these!
Aw thanks so much for the lovely comments, Patricia. They are very much appreciated.
Gorgeous photos and always the black and whites are timeless. I bought my first mirror-less Olympus this weekend so am anxious to try it out.
Thank you very much Tim. Enjoy the Olympus, I’ve heard good things about it! 🙂
These are some great shots, Steve. I remember when my family and I had our portraits taken and it was always a bit of a chore. I also think there are many more possibilities with outdoor shots versus shooting inside the studio.
Thanks Andrew, much appreciated! I know it’s a preference thing, but I always prefer a an outdoor shoot – I find studios a little dull.
Steve, you really do take some beautiful shots! Love the father holding the baby. We just had some professional family portraits done at my daughter’s bat-mitzvah. Our photographer got us to relax and do some funny moves; wonderful to have these forever.
Many thanks Leora, that’s very kind of you to say so. Great to hear your photographer got some fantastic shots at your daughter’s bar-mitzvah! 🙂
What a great way to feature some of your pics and leave some great pointers too. I’ve often noticed families like to get their pictures taken on the greenbelt near my house in the fall. All of the yellow leaves contrast with the asphalt path and make for a striking scene.
Thanks Jeri, Autumn as we call it (ha ha) is a wonderful time to get a family portrait shoot done. It’s just a pity the beautiful colours don’t last very long.
What wonderful suggestions and ideas for a shoot. And the pictures you took are incredible. Thanks for sharing.
Many thanks for taking the time to read my blog, William, and thanks so much for the kind words!
I really like the Idea of outdoor photography of family pictures.
All the pictures are amazing and I am thinking to go for one. Thanks for a great Idea.
Thank you very much. Go for it, make time to capture those special times with your family. 🙂