Timing Your Fall Family Photos
The Woodlands Family Photographer
Ashley Newman Photography
Man oh man…this is one of the harder blog posts I decided to tackle this year. Normally I write about tips and tricks, photo hacks and mom-life all day every day. But today I have *absolutely* got to tackle timing your fall family photos.
Every year my fall season books up earlier and earlier. And every year I end up having to turn families away.
Please know that it absolutely breaks my heart and I would take every single family in the Houston-area if I could.
That being said, there are never enough hours the day- you know that as a parent. We are always trying to find that balance and that is how this post was born.
Fall is the busiest and hardest season in our industry- a lot of us spend all year working toward making fall family picture season the best it can be. There is nothing worse than coming down to the wire or having a burnt out photographer trying to fit you in somewhere.
Ok, Ashley, we hear you, but what are we supposed to do?
Don’t worry! I got your back! Are you ready?
- Book Early- Earlier than you think. Aim for 3 months out…or around the time school starts up. I know summer is still holding on strong at that point, but to snag an October/November photo session, you have to get an early start. Plus this gives you plenty of time to outfit plan, budget and get your family on board.
- Subscribe- One of the best ways to be in the know is to follow your favorite photographer or dream photographer. Subscribe to their newsletter and turn on notifications for their posts. I promise we don’t want to spam you- we are just trying to get the word out about specials and booking. I have a private VIP group where I post all my sales and specials first, and then it trickles down to my mailing list and finally social media. Don’t be afraid to ask!
- Be Flexible- We all want cooler weather and weekend dates, but Houston weather is unpredictable at best and weekends fill up the fastest. The great things about leaning into a more flexible schedule is that sunset (on average) is about 7pm in October. A weeknight session won’t interfere too much with work and school schedules and I generally have more week nights open than I do available weekends.
- If your preferred dates are booked already, don’t give up! Ask for dates further out (January and February are still greta months for family photos!), check to see if they have a waitlist, or ask for a referral. I have an awesome team of photographers I work with and refer out to, so chances are we will be able to work something out with all of those options.
Listen, at the end of the day we want to take your family photos, have a full calendar and happy families with wonderful memories. And we all know real life happens. The main takeaway here is that you don’t want to try to book a session for, let’s say October, when it’s October.
Reach out today for stress free fall family photos.
