Family Photos: A Lasting Gift

For Mother’s Day, my sister and I gave our mother a gift certificate to get our photos professionally taken while we were at the beach. And our photographer, Katrice Howell, kindly answered a few questions for my blog to help you with your next photo session.

Time really does just fly by and my sister and I wanted to stop it just for a minute so we could capture this stage when they were young. We couldn’t think of a more special gift for my mom to remember our beach trip, too.

We used Katrice Howell for our photos after several Dallas friends recommended her. I liked that she only booked one session a night so nothing was rushed (and she could focus all her attention on our wiggly children!). And in that that time, she was able to get all the shots we wanted – including ones with just the children and each of our individual families (for Christmas cards, of course!).

She also gave us all the edited images on a CD so everyone could choose what photos they wanted to print for their homes. I’m so glad I got one of my husband and me because I don’t think we’ve had a professional picture of just the two us together since our wedding!

If you are thinking of getting family photos taken, here are some tips Katrice kindly shared:

The day of the photos should be a restful day. Don’t plan big fishing outings or other exhausting activities that day.
If doing late afternoon photos, let children have an afternoon rest or nap.
An adult beverage for the husband beforehand is sometimes a good idea. They need to be relaxed and happy, too!
If you are booking photos during a vacation, think about booking earlier in the week so photos can be rescheduled in the event of sickness, rain, or a bad sunburn (although the latter can be retouched!).
Coordinating colors is a good thing. If at the beach, blues, greens corals, pinks, whites are all pair nicely with the water and sand.
Definitely print out the photos; don’t let them sit on a CD for years!
And I would add: Best not to try to coax, shame, bribe your children – a good family photographer like Katrice will come prepared with lots of tricks up his/her sleeves.

Katrice’s schedule fills up fast so definitely contact her if you are interested in getting photos taken in the 30A/Destin area this summer or fall.

And she travels to other cities, too, upon request! Dallas friends: Katrice comes to Dallas every fall because she has so many clients here. So make sure you are following her on Facebook and Instagram to be “in the know” when she announces those dates because spots fill up. (She is still trying to decide which weekend so feel free to email her specific date requests!).

Hope you enjoyed this post! Next time you are trying to find a lasting gift, don’t forget about giving the gift of family photos. You will not regret it!