I’m back! After taking a much needed break over the holidays and adjusting the the back to school routine I am finally ready to dive back into what I hope will be an amazing 2019. 2018 was my busiest year as a maternity, newborn and family photographer - I photographed 50 amazing family and 32 sweet newborns, plus some specialty minis, Fresh 48s and maternity sessions. To be honest I was a little burnt out by the time December rolled around! This year I am striving to bring a little bit of balance back to my life, so I will be offering a very limited amount of newborn and family sessions each month, about 2-5 of each max. Not only is balance one of my goals, but giving the families I photograph the best experience possible from the time they inquire to the delivery of their photos and beyond is also at the top of my priority list for 2019.
There are some exciting new changes coming to my family sessions in 2019 and I am so happy to finally share some details with you. You can see my updated pricing here, but what I am most excited to share are some of my additional offerings this year. First, all 2019 family session dates from February to December will be released for online booking starting February 1st; I wanted to make choosing a date that works for your family as easy as possible. This year I am happy to also offer payment plans that can be structured to fit your family’s budget and make investing in your families memories possible. High resolutions images with print release will still be delivered via an online gallery and USB, but I also wanted to give everyone the best opportunity to print their photos via their online gallery; your memories belong on your wall or your coffee table, not on a USB in the junk drawer! This year each session will include the option to pre-purchase a custom designed album of your session images at a discounted rate of $250. When you pre-purchase an album you will also receive an $100 print credit to use towards additional professional quality prints from your session. Album not in your budget? No problem, all families will receive a $25 print credit to use towards beautiful professional prints. Photos are printed at a local professional lab and will give you quality printed photos that just don’t compare to the prints you can get at the local drug store (watch for a side by side print comparison on the blog soon!) Lastly, your feedback is so important to me as I am always striving to deliver the best family photography experience; so following the delivery of each session I will be sending a short survey that I hope everyone will take the time to complete and share with me what they loved about their session or what they think I could do better.
Choosing when to book your family session can be difficult. I am happy to share some of my favorite shots of 2018 as well as some helpful information that I hope makes choosing the season for your 2019 family session easy. We live in a very interesting climate and choosing the right season for your session will include many factors such as temperature, sunset times and some pros and cons of each season.
Winter Family Sessions
Winter family sessions take place between late November and March. The average temperature ranges between 0 and -6℃. The lighting or sunset times in the winter range between 4pm in November (after day lights savings) to 7pm in late March which can be convenient for families with little ones who can’t handle staying up too late. All of my family sessions are within 1-2 hours of sunset and in winter we can get that beautiful golden light as early as 3pm in November or 6 pm in March. Temperature is usually the main reason for rescheduling as I tend to reschedule if it is really windy or if the temperature is below -8. Some of the reasons I love winter family sessions are the adorable array of touques I see on little ones or when families bring hot chocolate to share with each other during the session. There are also some amazing winter events in YEG that I would be happy to photograph your family at including the beautiful Ice Castles; or we could hit up an Edmonton area rink for some skating or hockey themed family photos. In home sessions are also available this time of year, I’d be more than happy to come photograph your family baking Christmas cookies or snuggling up in front of the fire place. Snuggles to keep warm are what I love most and your kids will be more than happy to get nice and close during a winter family session.
Spring Family Sessions
Spring family sessions take place between late March and May. Weather can be fairly unpredictable (who still remembers our April snow storms last year!) but the average temperature ranges between 11-18℃. The days get a bit longer but no too long for little ones. Sessions will take place between 7pm in April to 8:30pm in late May. Some of the reasons I love spring family sessions is the light - I always seem to catch the most beautiful light this time of year. Plus- no bugs! The mosquitos don’t generally get bad before late May, but spring brings the beauty of summer with green grass and cherry blossoms by mid to late May. Spring is also the perfect time for grad sessions; I can capture the new grad the afternoon of graduation between the ceremony and banquet or the week or two before or after. Book your graduation session today by contacting me directly, spots are already booking up.
Summer Family Sessions
Summer family sessions take place between June and August. This short and sweet season can see temperatures between an average of 21-23℃ with spikes a lot warmer. Thunderstorms are the main reason for rescheduling. Summer days are long! On the longest day of the year in late June the sun doesn’t set until after 10pm. Session times will range between 8:30pm in June down to 7:30pm in late August. This can seem alarming to some families who’s kids are in bed by 7 (like mine!) but trust me, our session will be so fun and action packed that any kid can handle one later than usual bedtime - Don’t worry! I will also be sure to prepare you for this later session with my family prep guide that I send to every family when they book a session. I love summer family sessions! Everything is green, flowers are bloomed and we can dip our toes in the water in some locations. I find dressing for a summer family session a bit more laid back too (not as many layers and kids can even go bare feet!). I would love to go berry picking with your family ( I know a couple good wild spots) or even photograph you amongst the big blue sky and canola fields in mid to late July. The main con - mosquitos! I carry a good supply of repellent to every session and tend to avoid areas where they are particularly bad; you can definitely prepare for mosquitos but it is something to keep in mind if you have little ones who are really bothered by them. Overall summer is a very popular season for family photography for good reason, book early to avoid missing out!
Fall Family Sessions
Last but definitely not least - Fall. The ever popular fall family sessions take place between very late August to early November (if we are lucky - as we saw in 2018 fall can turn to winter very fast!). Temperatures are sweater weather nice with an average temperature that trends down from 17 to 0℃. Days start to get shorter which means earlier session times ranging between 7pm in late August to 5pm in November (prior to day lights savings), perfect for little ones. Cancellations are generally rare except for very cold days. The beautiful fall colors are the main draw, but they are honestly fairly unpredictable. My suggestion would be early to book between mid-September until early October - that would be the best bet in an average year. These session dates book up fast! In 2018 my fall was fully booked by June. What don’t I love about fall sessions! Bugs are generally gone, weather is fair and the warm tones really suit my editing style the best; mostly I love that I usually get to see the same beautiful families year after year.
I hope that this helps you decide when the best time is for your 2019 family session! It’s going to be an amazing year, I hope you will join me!
