YOUR FAMILY SESSION GUIDE
I highly encourage clients to read the guide in it’s entirety to help answer common questions + prepare you to get the most out of your session!
if we haven’t met yet,
i’m rachel greenslade…
the gal behind the camera here at Rachel Reilly Photography. I grew up in Iowa showing horses with my family and now live on a generational farm with my husband and our pets Leo, Gary, Lou + Gigi.
I know clients have a million questions before photo shoots, so I’ve created this guide after hundreds of sessions with my best tips + tricks to help make your session go smoothly. I encourage clients to follow these directions to ensure you get the most out of our time together!
If you still have any questions after reading this guide, I’m always happy to chat at rachelreillyphotography@gmail.com or at 563-380-9277.
01. Outfits
The most common question I get asked is what to wear + where to shop. It can seem overwhelming picking outfits, but here is my advise to help simplify it for you!
1. Start with a color scheme
2. Have some family members in solids + others in patterns
3. Avoid exactly matching colors + instead work within similar tones
4. Neutrals like white, cream + tans are an excellent safe option if you can’t decide on a color
5. Avoid neon colors or clothing with large, distracting logos on them
The most important step when choosing an outfit is ensuring it fits well and is flattering. When capturing our 3D selves in a 2D photo, outfits sometimes translate on camera different than they look in real life. I encourage clients to pick clothing that isn’t overly baggy or loose, those items tend to translate bigger on camera - which is often the opposite effect were going for. Instead I like to tell clients to pick items that closely follow the natural shape of your body.
I recommend shopping at:
www.brokerleather.com
www.vicicollection.com
www.petalandpup.com
www.selfieleslie.com
www.balticborn.com
www.abercrombie.com
02. where we shoot
Where we photograph has impact on how your photos turn out but I don’t need epic national parks or grand scenic spots to deliver you gorgeous images. Yes stunning locations help, but I’m always happy to work with the space we are in to get you the best images possible. I encourage clients to let me help pick the location if you’re not set on an exact spot - that way I can help guide us to the locations to get you the best results!
My favorite locations to take clients to include mature trees for shade and overgrown grass for soft texture. I like to avoid overly dark locations like the bottom of a heavily wooden valley.
When going into our photo shoot, please remember you hired me because you liked my past work you’ve seen + trust my process of creating images like that for you. I base the exact locations I place you in based on light more than I base it on background. Flattering lighting will result in much better photos than a cool background will. I’ve often been asked “seriously, you want to shoot here?!” when at sessions and it’s because I am seeing my surroundings based on how my camera will see them, not the human eye. Please trust the process + know the photos will turn out much different then it feels in real life!
03. weather
Both sunny + cloudy days work great for photos and both have advantages. On sunny days will can get epic lighting, stunning light peeking through trees + golden sunset photos, but it can also limit us on where we shoot since I pick flattering lighting first when picking locations. On cloudy days we have the advantage of a bit more freedom of where to shoot since the lighting is more forgiving. Both work excellent and I’m always happy to shoot in either!
Rain, excessive temperatures + wind may force us to reschedule. When booking a session that will have to be outdoors, it’s a gamble whether the day you pick will be optimal to photograph in or not. As a photographer, I want you to have every opportunity to have the best session possible, so sometimes that requires us to reschedule to another day for better weather. I’m always happy to reschedule due to any weather related issues like storms, flooding, humidity, wind or snow. I only book a certain amount of sessions each month to ensure I have enough open days to move you to a better day. I keep a close eye on the weather the week leading up to our session + will reach out with any concerns. For sessions requiring a flight, we will have to make the call 2 days before your session. For local sessions, we can sometimes wait until a few hours before your session depending on your exact location to make the call.
05. posing
Before the start of our session we’ll go over your goals for the photo shoot + what type of images you’re wanting to end up with. If you have any specific shots in mind, please let me know at the beginning of our shoot so we can plan for them. If you don’t have specific poses in mind - rest easy knowing I’ll tell you exactly what to do!
I will guide you through the entire shoot, telling you where to place your hands, which leg to put weight on and how to pose with your family - but I also allow space for candid moments to unfold.
For sessions with young children, a lot of your photos will be candid moments! It may feel hectic or overwhelming trying to get your toddler to cooperate, but trust that within the times of them pulling away or running away I am capturing photo worthy candid moments. I will try my best to get that perfect smiling at the camera photo - but please know when kids are young the best way to capture them is in candid moments!
PRO TIP: Parents, please don’t point at the camera and tell your child to look at me. It almost never works and instead of a beautiful candid moment I could be capturing I instead have a photo of you pointing at me, which nobody will ever print or post lol.
06. after our session
You will receive your sneak peek within 72 hours of our session.
Your full gallery will be delivered within 4 weeks of our session.
Both the sneak peek + full gallery will be delivered to the email address provided for your contract. You will be sent a private link to an online gallery that you can instantly download your photos from. Your photos will contain no watermark + you have full permission to share them on social media + print. Photos will be cropped + color corrected, but if there is anything specific like removing a scar, helping tame fly away hairs or removing an object from the background please email me to see what we can do! Some requests may require an editing fee depending on what it all entails.
Your online gallery link will stay active for 1 year. I advise backing your images up to a USB for long term storage. A $35 archiving fee will apply if you need your gallery reactivated after the 1 year mark.
I don’t require tagging on social media, but would absolutely love it if you would! Word of mouth is the biggest driver of my business + tagging me in your photos helps immensely + is greatly appreciated!
