What to expect from a family portrait session

Family portrait sessions have a reputation for being slightly stressful, which is understandable. You're trying to get multiple people to look good at the same time, often including children who have their own ideas about what they want to be doing. Here is what actually happens during a session with Pixel Juniper, and what you can do to make it easier.

Choosing a location ¶

We don't default to a studio backdrop for family sessions. A location that means something to you, a park you go to regularly, a garden, a neighbourhood you know well, tends to produce images that feel more like your family than a generic setting does.

For autumn sessions, we usually look for somewhere with tree cover, which gives good colour and filters the light nicely even on a bright day. We'll suggest a few options based on where you are and what you're after, and we'll agree on a time that works with the light rather than just with your diary.

On the day ¶

Sessions run 90 minutes. The first 20 minutes are usually the loosest: everyone's getting used to the camera being there, the kids are figuring out what's happening, and we're finding the spots that are working best. The images from this part of the session are often the most natural.

We don't do a lot of posing. We'll suggest positions and groupings, but mostly we're watching for the moments that happen between the posed ones. Those tend to be the images people actually put on their walls.

After the shoot ¶

You'll receive a proof gallery within three working days. For a 90-minute family session, that's usually 50 to 70 images to browse. You mark your favourites, we do the full edit on those, and the final files arrive as high-resolution JPEGs within two working days of your selection.

The files are yours to print, share and use however you like. The usage licence covers personal use in full. If you want to order prints through a lab, we can recommend a few that produce good results from the file sizes we deliver.

Autumn books up faster than any other season for family sessions. If you're thinking about it, the booking form is on the contact page.