You booked. Here's what you need to know before the day.
Read it once now. Skim the checklist near the end the night before — that's all it takes.
<aside> 📷
You don't have to be good in front of a camera. Handling that part is my job.
</aside>
A Full Family session runs about 75 minutes, an Essentials session about 25.
The first few minutes are the warm-up — everyone's stiff, the kids are figuring out who I am, you're wondering where to put your hands. I plan for that, and I take pictures you'll mostly never see. Then it loosens up. I'll give you prompts: walk toward me, pick her up, tell him a secret, everybody squeeze Mom until she complains. The pictures come from what happens next, not just from the instruction.
Somewhere near the beginning we get the one where everybody's looking at the camera — takes about four minutes, then we're back to the good stuff. Near the end I pull people into smaller groups: just the kids, just the two of you, each kid on their own. If there's a specific photo you want, tell me at the start and I'll make sure it happens.
Outdoor sessions start in the last hour of daylight. The light is soft, warm, and comes in sideways. Midday sun does the opposite — hard shadows, squinting, raccoon eyes. Worth working your schedule around.
Sunset in Ashburn runs from about 4:48 pm in mid-December to about 8:37 pm in mid-June. I'll confirm your exact start time.
Please be on time. It's the one thing I'll nag you about: when we lose light we don't get it back, and a late start means a shorter session, not a later one.