There are a lot of important factors that go into preparing the absolute best client experience for everyone whose memories I capture — time of day, the behind-the-scenes preparations and much more.

One thing I have put a lot of thought into is how long is an ideal family photo session. I’ve tried different amounts, but honestly, I always come back to 45 minutes being the best timeframe for everyone.

I know that there’s a lot of requests for mini photo sessions of 15 or 20 minutes in length but in my opinion, it’s just not long enough for all children especially (and the dads, too, let’s be honest) to get comfortable enough to be their true “them” — to achieve the genuine smiles and laughter and to look for leaves, throw snowballs and explore forested paths.

This amount of time also allows the ability to have different backdrops, try a variety of poses and groupings and adjust for unforeseen things like quickly-changing weather, crowded areas, hungry babies, antsy toddlers and anything else that may pop up.

I don’t want to keep you all day, but I love having the wiggle room and flexibility to give you many photos that tell the unique story of you and your family, not a cookie-cutter showcase of “just any family” session.

So, yes, to me, 45 minutes is the ideal time for a family photo session and I love the images and stories this — and all the other pieces of the puzzle — creates for all of my clients.