FAMILY FILM SESSION

GENERAL PHILOSOPHY

My aim is to provide you with a beautiful and meaningful family film capturing the essence of your everyday family life for you and your family to treasure for many years to come.

A RELAXED SESSION

The session will occur in the comfort of your own home; resulting in your children interacting naturally in their own environment. The session usually takes place in the morning, starting early to take advantage of the best natural light, and also making sure that the little ones have a good energy!

CHILDREN

Childhood is such a special moment in life, and one that only last a few years... As we all know, they grow so fast!

Every child has their own personality. Some are outgoing, others are shy. Some are cheeky, others are reserved. My aim is to capture exactly that: who they are at this very special moment of their life.

How am I planning on achieving this? By giving them the time to feel comfortable not only around me but also my camera. For this reason, I won't be picking up my camera straight away, but instead I will first talk with them.

With regards to preparing the children to the session, I do not suggest any bribes or rewards prior to the session as it can often send the message that a painful experience is to come. This can also go against the goal of the session by pushing a forced behaviour (in order to receive the reward) or for the child to want the session to end as soon as possible so they can get to the reward part!

The best way to get the children excited and wanting to participate to the session, is by telling them that you guys will be spending some quality and fun time together, playing, snuggling and hugging all together.

CHOOSING YOUR OUTFITS

When choosing your session wardrobe, it is best to stay within a neutral, organic color palette like cream, grey, blush, sand and navy.

Try to stay away from brighter colors in the red & orange range. Darker colors are encouraged only if they are muted in their brightness, such as a dark emerald, or merlot.

Choose solid colors that layer together, with details in the texture such as knits, linen, and lace. If you choose white or black, be sure there is texture to the fabric, as that helps preserve the detail in photographs. For an outfit such as a dress, I recommend looking for material that drapes well.

Any chosen prints or patterns should be minimal and soft. There should be no logos or writing on your clothing, as they become distracting in the photographs or film.

Harmonisation of the family outfits is always good, both in regards to the color tones and the style (casual, smart casual or smart). Solid colors usually photograph better than stripes or patterns for example.

The idea is to choose outfits that will compliment each other (similar tones and style). This doesn’t mean the same outfit or same colors for all of course.

I would also suggest to try all outfits before the session day, to avoid any panic on the day with a missing button, a stain or else.

Above all, keep in mind that simplicity is always more. As with all of my work, I believe that timeless should always be chosen over trendy.

Inspiration

I have created a few boards on my Pinterest profile to give you some inspiration and help you decide which type of outfits will fit you best, and also some color palette inspiration. You can see them by clicking here.

GETTING YOUR HOUSE session-READY

To prepare for the session, I would suggest that you remove anything that would be considered as everyday clutter: eg. mail, pile of papers etc. No need to re-decorate the rooms though! Also, please make sure to switch off the lights and open the blinds to allow for natural light. We’ll also aim to capture your family without the TV on; the aim is to document the relationships amongst yourselves and for your family to have a fun time together!

THINGS TO REMEMBER

I would advise not to try a new haircut or hairstyle on the day for the first time. It would be best to get your new haircut a few days prior to the shoot so that you are comfortable with it, and that your new haircut falls more naturally on you.

It is also important that everyone gets a good night sleep the night before, to avoid feeling tired, stressed-out or moody on the day (remember, it supposed to be fun).

If you don't feel like dealing with your hair and make-up on the day, why not hiring a hair & make-up artist to do it for you? If this is something you think you'd like to do, I recommend planning it ahead of the day to avoid any last minute panic.

THE SESSION & WHAT TO EXPECT

Before the session

I will contact you a few days prior to the agreed session date, so that we can confirm the details of the session.

During the session

My aim is to capture genuine emotions and the relationships between you and your family members.

The session will last up to two hours, and will be mainly lifestyle; meaning that I will ask you and your family to just be yourselves and act naturally with each other.

Please do remember that not everything will go as you imagined or planned, and no, your children will most probably not behave exactly as you wanted during the session neither. Things will go wrong, toddlers will have a meltdown, and kids will get tired and might even turn to you with the famous ‘I don’t want to!’… Please do rest assured: this is how it supposed to happen!

Children will be shy or silly, more reserved or putting on a show. This is all normal child behaviour, and expected.

The last thing we want is a stressed-out mum, or a family under pressure to get the perfect shot! Your job is to relax, love on one another and have fun. This is the main thing you need to do during your session, enjoy and cherish that moment with your family.

After the session

As I personally edit both your film and each one of your images, the waiting period to receive both your family film and digital photographs following the session is usually four weeks (unless agreed otherwise).

I will provide you with your private online gallery where you will be able to see your collection of photographs and family film, and download them. If you have not done so at the time of booking your session or on the day of the session, you will also have the opportunity to order some additional prints and products at that time.

Once you have selected and purchased any additional products (albums, matted or framed prints), I will place the order with my professional photographic lab.

Depending on the product selected, the waiting period to receive the chosen items once the order has been placed with the lab, could vary between one and five weeks.

PRINTED PRODUCTS

There are different ways in which you can treasure your new beautiful portraits and captured memories.

Some like to keep their photographs in a special place, keeping them personal and being able to spend hours looking back at each of them – if you are one of them then our albums selection is for you!

While others can’t wait to share them with their whole world and getting a smile every time their eyes passed that wall – in this case our selection of matted or framed prints will be your delight!

And some again, want both! No matter where you fit, we can discuss your needs and find the right display for you.

Learn more

HERE TO HELP

Remember, my aim is to offer you a meaningful experience which will turn into meaningful portraits; so if you have any queries or need some advice, please contact me on 724 417 4603 or via email at helene@helenestypephotography.com.

Looking forward to meeting your family!

xo