Reason 1. The weather is MUCH nicer for location sessions. Honestly, family portraits turn out much better when done outside on location. I don't prefer family portraits in the studio only because they have to be very posed and 'stiff'...the candid 'capturing your family in the natural' is not possible in a limited space, nor do they look 'natural' when shot under artificial studio lighting. With that being said, the weather is perfect for location portraits! It isn't too cold yet, but the dead, humid heat of summer is finally gone~!
We missed our session last fall, and opted to them in June...during the hottest heat wave we've seen in a while...our photos were gorgeous beyond words, but Chris, and the girls were miserable from the heat! Needless to say, we have another session set for this fall!
Reason 2. As with everyone, the holiday season is the busiest time for you and also your photographer. Booking in the fall allows plenty of time to purchase Christmas gifts and have them delivered. Pretty obvious, but, (myself included), we get so busy and distracted by all of the seasonal events and commitments, that a lot of us don't even think about portraits until it's too late. If you are planning on doing Christmas cards with your portraits, then you need to book as soon as you can! Most photographers have a 3-4 week turnaround time, even if you're only receiving a disc with digital images, so give yourself plenty of time to order your cards after your photo session as well. This will be so much less stressful than booking last minute, and praying you receive your products~keep in mind that we, as photographers, cannot control the delivery systems and the holiday season creates a ton of unplanned delays.
Reason 3. Booking fall portraits makes gorgeous Christmas gifts! If you haven't heard of a gallery wrap, boy are you missing out! They are very high end, and also affordable for any budget. I have several around our home and will have them displayed all around the studio once we get moved in~! Gallery wraps make excellent photo gifts for anyone (even yourself) and are my favorite way to display photos. Remember, 8x10 is NOT wall size...if you want your images displayed on your walls, you must go with 11x14 or larger; otherwise, your image will be swallowed up by wall space...or you'll keep hanging 8x10's until your wall looks too cluttered and unflattering.
Aside from gallery wraps, stand outs, and gift albums are also great options for the grands~can you imagine their faces as they open a folding album full of photos of their sweet grand-babies?? Trust me, it's priceless!!
Photo products and gallery wraps are available at www.hwgphotography.com to purchase after your session (or if you've ever done a session with me). If you want to see photos of the photo products available, email me at haley@hwgphotography.com.
Reason 4. Wardrobe is the most important responsibility of the client! The clothes you choose for a session will determine what style or 'feel' you get from your photos...plain old solids won't POP as much as bold colors and coordinating patterns. And this isn't something that can be thrown together in a week~you will need lots of time to choose a wardrobe AND coordinate with your photographer what props to use. The less prep-time you give your photographer *if any at all*, the less your photos are going to be what you want. They'll still be high quality and beautiful, no doubt, but you want your photos to be the ones on Facebook that your friends look at and say, "I want our session to be like THAT...it's gorgeous!" I recently did a wardrobe consult with an upcoming client and after buying her families' outfits, and seeing them together, she said, "This is definitely different, but I'm gonna love it!!" Isn't that what family portraits are all about??? Breaking away from your everyday routine, and doing something so bold and out of the ordinary, that you never want to quit looking at your images?? (And don't ever think you can't take good photographs....because you CAN! My job is to help prepare you for your session, make you feel beautiful and pose you in flattering ways during your session, and show you how beautiful you are in your final images; trust me, you will be blown away what you see~WITHOUT over editing Photoshop!!)
Reason 5. Before long, the scenery begins to die away. You want to book before the scenery looks 'dead'...during the fall, the leaves are changing and the greenery is still very bold in your photos. The sun has that gorgeous 'golden' look to it and there is also more diversity in your session. We are able to shoot a 'fall' look with leaves, trees, pumpkins, etc...and if you wear sweater, scarf, or other accessory, you can remove it and shoot in a different location allowing you keep your photos on display during the warmer months of spring/summer~! If you wait too long, the leaves and other colorful wildlife begins to die out leaving bare trees and gloomy photos.
So...have you booked your family photo session yet? If not, what are you waiting for!! I am running a fall session right now and beginning December 1st, I am offering a special Christmas discount on portraits! Email me at haley@hwgphotography.com or call me~706-867-5311 and let's plan your perfect fall session~!
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