Why you Should Get Family Photos Done Annually in Seattle, Washington
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Since I became a mom, I’ve learned that all the cliches and sayings about parenthood are true! Time really does fly. They definitely grow up so fast. The days are long, but the years are short. You get the picture! It’s easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day tasks and suddenly one day you flip through old photos of your kids and they look so different! For this reason and more, you really should consider making a commitment to have professional photos done every year.
They Really Do Grow Up So FAST
I always like when my phone automatically throws up an old photo from a couple years earlier just as a reminder that that photo still exists. It reminds me how chubby my daughter’s face was when she was an infant or how she started sucking her fingers to self-soothe when she was just 3 months old. With photos, I can look back and see how her hair was short and curly and how smiley she always was for my camera. Sure I’m biased, but photography really is such a gift! Imagine a world with no photos. Our memories would fail us and we would only have a fraction of the whole picture in our minds. We need that imagery to bring our memories to life!
You can’t make time stop, but you can freeze a moment in a photo. The faces you think you’ll always remember, grow up and change. The tiny hands you hold now will one day no longer need you to cross the street. It’s the little things we often take for granted in the busyness of life that need a photo to remember all the details. When you go years in between photographing your family, you’re missing out on those exact details– your son’s missing two front teeth or your daughter’s chubby leg rolls when she was just 8-months old.
But Can’t I Just Take them Myself with my Phone?
Well sure, documenting daily or weekly activities with your kids and whole family is wonderful and definitely recommended. But there’s two issues with this idea. I know phone cameras have come a long way from those early days and can take amazing photos– but there is more to it than just taking a snapshot. The quality of your image suffers when you try to blow it up to a bigger size, so if you want to enlarge it, you may run into pixelation issues or realize it’s actually kind of blurry when you zoom in! Also, putting a filter on a photo is far different than having a professional hand edit your image to bring out quality colors and epic skies.
More importantly, if you’re the one taking all the photos, when are you ever going to be in them? Selfies don’t count! Your children will look back on years worth of photos from your phone and want to see you! These are not just photos for your memories, but mementos for your kids as well. So book the session and get in the photos!
Invest in Keepsakes
One thing I have really loved since having kids is their love for looking at photos. I didn’t even realize when I designed a 1-year album for my daughter that it would get so much attention from her and her sister! They love flipping through the pages and seeing how small they were and I love watching them take it all in and ask questions! It definitely motivates me to continue to print out the photos that are being captured. Sure, having photos on your phone is handy, but physically touching and holding a print or an album really elevates the experience. Call it nostalgic, but I hope physical photo albums never get phased out by the digital world.
I have a gallery wall in my house that is full of photos of milestones, and family photos from each year. I love coming down my stairs and seeing a photo of my newborn baby girl or my smiling toddler next to my pregnant belly. The gallery wall is special to me, as really all the framed prints in my house are, because the photos remind me of a specific moment in time that I can relive.
This is why I encourage all my clients to order physical frames, prints, or albums and even offer complimentary print credit to make it easy! I want to ensure that every client walks away from our session with something to hold and not just a digital gallery that may get lost in the cyberspace of Facebook or Instagram posts. Plus it’s a great way to keep the photos on your walls updated!
When you’re making it a tradition to do family photos each year, you’ll be able to fill your walls and frames with new photos annually. Another fun way to display images is through a digital frame that can show a whole slideshow of photos in your living room!
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words and then Some
Have you ever thought about the true value of a photograph? Think about how you can drive a brand new car off the car dealership lot and immediately it depreciates. Over time, that car loses thousands of dollars in value. But with pictures, a photograph only appreciates in value! Think about how special that wedding photo of your grandparents is or that vintage picture of your mom and dad when they were dating.
Or for a more modern day example, imagine losing all your photos from your hard drive or phone and never recovering them! That would be devastating because those photos are so valuable…some would say priceless.
These photographs allow you to revisit cherished memories and share them with future generations too, like your kids and grandkids. They become a part of your family's legacy, connecting the past with the present. Isn’t that a beautiful thing?
It’s More than a Photo Shoot, it’s an Experience
My goal is not to take a ton of photos of everyone looking at me with the same smile over and over again in varying poses. Smiles are great and I definitely want those, saying cheese has its place though, and fair warning, we won’t be doing photos like that the entire hour. During my photo sessions, you play, you explore, you laugh and you embrace. I have a connection-based approach to all my family photo shoots and aim to capture your bond, not just your beautiful smiles. Think of it as an evening to relax, play and have quality time together.
Get your younger kids excited to explore a new spot! Tell your older kids it will be painless. Let your husband know this means a lot to you. And really, it will be a fun time! My prompts are interactive and playful and your family will be anything but bored. Plus afterwards, it’s always a great idea to top off the night with a nice dinner or a treat for the kids!
Pro tip: Each year you take photos, mix it up with the season. Maybe one year you choose fall, and the following year you opt for a summer session. Or choose a completely different looking location to add variety to your photos each year! This will keep things fresh and fun.
Are You Convinced or On the Fence?
Maybe you’re ready to pull the trigger and want to book your family photos this year, great! You can check out my packages here or get in touch with me now!
But maybe you have some reservations– you don’t have the time to fit it in your schedule because your family is always so busy or you’re concerned about budgeting for a photo session. Or maybe you’re overwhelmed at the thought of finding the right photographer, planning the location, and all the outfits! I have something perfect for those busy mamas who can’t invest a lump sum of money into photography all at once.
It’s called the Keepsake Club! This is a membership-based photography service that gives you a discount on a yearly photoshoot with the perk of a 12-month payment plan. This way you can plan ahead with your budget and will only have incremental payments throughout the year instead of a larger balance all at once! Plus, members get priority booking before my calendar is live to the public.
Oh and did I mention, you don’t have to narrow down your favorite photos…you get them all! Every year you decide to renew your membership, you’ll have access to your online gallery—like a digital family yearbook. And finally, clients can always wear any items from my client closet to help save on money and time trying to figure out what to wear.
If any of this resonated with you, don’t hesitate to reach out! I look forward to documenting your family this year and for as long as you’ll have me!
