Are you curious about what’s involved in a New Jersey family photo session? Come behind the scenes with me and see what it’s all about! I’m Danielle! I’m a New Jersey family photographer and I created this blog post to ease some of your anxieties with family photos. After this blog post, you will be well prepared for a family session with me or any other photographer.

New Jersey Family Photographer: What happens first?

The first thing that happens after you inquire about a session is you pick your date. I will send over a calendar link which will include which dates I have available. Once your date is picked, you will then pay your retainer and sign a contract.

(my calendar view)

New Jersey Family Photographer: What happens after I book?

Then the fun part begins. Well, at least I think this is the fun part. You start to plan your outfits. I know, I know. You may be thinking that’s not fun at all. I know some people get very stressed out when planning outfits so that’s where I come in to help. I give all of my clients a specific style guide which includes a color palette and outfit suggestions. I’m more than willing to work along side with you planning via text or phone consults. I can send over various links to outfits that I think would match well with your style. Oh yeah, I have a client closet too! If you’d like to learn more about family photo outfits, check out this blog post.

(These are some dresses I currently have in my client closet.)

New Jersey Family Photographer: What happens after I choose outfits?

(This is a photo of me walking my clients to their location.)

Ok so this is truly the fun part. Once you show up for your session, I will find the spot with the best light (golden hour is the best.) And then the magic happens. I’ll pose you and give you specific prompts to help you feel relaxed in front of the camera. I focus a lot on candid, organic images rather than posed images. I might use prompts like “have a tickle fight” or “everyone look at each other and make a funny face.” Depending on which package you book; I may have you move about to different locations within the park or location setting. This might be good if you have little kids that tend to get bored or lose their attention quickly. Look below for some Behind the Scene photos of recent photo sessions.

So once your session is finished, I will send over some sneak peak images from your session within 2-3 days. Your gallery will be delivered within 2 weeks of your session date. You are free to download your images, print them, and post them.

And that’s it! I hope this blog post has helped you better understand the family photo session process from start to finish. If you have any more questions, or if you’d like to book your own family session. Fill out my contact form here. If you’d like to see more of my work, come check out my website or my Instagram.