We’ve been photographing families for a long time now. One thing we know for certain, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Allow me to explain my thought process here. We are now entering our un-official family season for family portraits. What prompts family season to start as it gets chilly? These are the habits we see: Eager moms start thinking about Fall colors, chilly days, and family gatherings now that the business of summer is dying down. I assume by now it gives families more time to think about family and an incoming holiday season. Who doesn’t want to share their family portrait with extended family during the holidays? It’s the perfect gift, even if it’s only in a card! And what proud mom doesn’t want a current portrait of her clan displayed on her wall so that she can enjoy it every day?
We get asked all the time, “When is the perfect time to get a family portrait taken?” We can tell you with a smile that the answer would be, “Never!”
Why? Well, here’s the deal, and we see and hear about it every time we book a session! Families in Utah tend to be on the larger side (numbers, not weight!
) And with busy, growing families it always seems that there is ‘something’ going on, or someone missing, or someone is wanting to wait until they get their braces off, or someone is wanting to wait until they shed a few pounds…, but things get delayed and next thing you know, you have a missionary leaving, and now you have to wait 2 more years, and he/she finally gets home but now you have the oldest sister getting ready to have a baby, so we better wait for that, well let’s wait until the baby can smile, so let’s wait until Spring (We can count on 1 hand how many spring family sessions we have done. They just don’t happen, life gets in the way.) ….. Get my drift? It is NEVER a “perfect” time. So… there sits your wall, empty for years because you can’t find that perfect time!
Being guilty of this myself, we hear this all the time, “We haven’t had family portraits in eight years, because someone was always pregnant or gone.” It’s been 3 years since we’ve had a family portrait taken, but I promise that will change this year!
This is the question that has haunted our sleep for years. Finally this past winter season, one of the mom’s coming in with her brood in tow for family portraits said the PERFECT reply to that question. I’d like to thank her for that epiphany. She said, “This family may change in a year, but this is us, right here, right now… and this is a great memory to have.”
The moral to my little story would be this: It may never be the perfect time, but right now is the best time. It’ s no easy task to try to be perfect, but you can be your best.
We are booking into October by now. If you need a weekend to get the family together, give us a call ASAP. Saturdays fill up first and fast – We will shoot on Sundays during this season, if the need is there. We know how hard it is to get your young adult children anywhere near the house during the week. Call us for availability and bring your family to someone you can trust to get the job done, and have you thrilled with the results. That’s our mission in life! We don’t want you to just be satisfied, we want you to be thrilled! It’s our guarantee. And hopefully the “proof is in the pudding.”
Thanks for reading! -Shelley
Steve Harrington Photography Contact Information:
Cell -435-452-1952
Studio – 435-257-0272
Email – info@steveharrington.net
