Three Signs It’s Time to Hire a Lifestyle Family Photographer

If you’ve been considering a lifestyle family photography session, you probably love photos that capture meaningful and deep connections. You likely love photos that show how you embrace each season of life. And you want photos to help you tell stories.

You might be wondering when it’s time to invest in lifestyle family photography. Here are three ways to know.

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Lifestyle Family Photography is for You Now if You Love Family Stories

People who hire a lifestyle family photographer love to tell stories, especially family stories. Do you find yourself saying “I’ve got to write that one down” when you toddler says something funny like, “Mom! Daddy’s shaving without his glasses on, again”? Yeah, me too!

Do you look at photos from a few years ago and love revisiting the stories? You might say things like, “We didn’t even know Abby was going to be a big sister when you took that one!” and then feel like you might just have a twinge of morning sickness. Or “Oh, that was right before the pandemic hit” which is followed by a wave of nostalgia for the days when we didn’t bring masks when we left the house.

Lifestyle family photographers love to help people remember stories. We capture photos of who you are more than the posed everyone look at the camera moments that tend to focus more on what you look like. I want to take photos that will bring you back to this season with its unique stories and connections for your family.

It’s Time for a Lifestyle Family Photography Session When You are Absent from Most Family Photos

If you are reading this, you probably like photography. But, do you get behind the camera more than a few times a year? Do you have any family photos that include you since your baby got her first tooth or your big kid lost his first tooth?

Does your collection of family photos only show your point of view leaving out the fact that you were there too? What about photos with your partner? And, handing off the camera to a kid who takes a charming but crooked photo that cuts off half of you doesn’t really count. (I say this from personal experience!)

Your story matters too. You deserve photos that show you with your family. Your family will treasure photos of you with them.

When So Much has Changed Since Your Last Photo Session (or You Haven’t Had One Yet!) It’s Time for a Lifestyle Family Photography Session

As you know, we are living in unprecedented and tumultuous times for this planet and our country. Our families change too. Sometimes the change is wonderful — a new baby, a new house, that new job you’ve been striving for, a child who learns to walk then read. Sometimes change is hard — a family dynamic shift, saying goodbye to a loved one, letting go of a job or goal, accepting the limits of our bodies as we age.

But, change is our story. As a photographer, I don’t need to know your personal story; I’ll happily listen to as much or as little as you’d like to share. But, I do think that having photos to document now is important, even when now isn’t what we expected it to be because your story matters.

I’ve found that I’m really bad at predicting the future. I thought I’d be a high school science teacher for another 20 years. But, in 2019 I learned that wasn’t the right path for me any more. Starting my own business has been both wonderful and hard. I meet clients who also love their kids with openness and understanding, who value art and who find ways to connect deeply with their families while also doing work that makes the world a better place. I also struggle with my own family-work balance (who doesn’t?). Learning about business and marketing has stretched my mind in ways that teaching never did. So, all that is to say, if your life isn’t what your 20 year old self dreamed it would be, you are in good company. And, that’s all the more reason to get photos taken!

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