Member of NAPCP

I am so excited to announce napcp - National Association of Professional Child Photographers - has accepted me as one of their member photographers! Click here to see my profile.

There are about thirty or so of us in Florida, and I am the first one in our county.

The napcp is a fantastic resource for parents and photographers, and an inspiring community of artists. You can look up photographers in your area (or where you will be visiting) on their website, and know every photographer has gone through a review process to be accepted as a member.

I look forward to being a part of this wonderful community, and to continue serving all my families with all the respect and love they deserve.

Please let me know if I can serve your family with my photography. I offer Child and Family Portrait Sessions, and Documentary Day in the Life Sessions - whether at home, out and about, on vacation, or even at Walt Disney World. Message me for details and availability. Photographing families and children brings me so much joy, and I would absolutely love to work with your family! Whether it is in Vero Beach, Florida, the surrounding areas - or anywhere worldwide.

Evening in the Day in the Life

Most of you know how passionate I am about documenting the real, authentic, every day life with kids, and including all of it - the good, bad and ugly. I think it's so true we start forgetting some of the challenges of having little ones as they grow, and it's so, so bittersweet to watch our kids reach new milestones. Exciting - yes, but we know we can't get those days back.

I love watching the joy, wonder and innocence of my 5-year old as she goes about her day. I want to document that with my camera. And when she has meltdowns, and the house is a wreck and I leave the dishes for the morning - I actually want to remember that, too. We have loved hard, we have lived well, and I want to have tangible memories of all of it.

I have enjoyed every Day in the Life Session with every family I have served. It brings me so much joy to get snapshots from the parents of their kids looking through the photo book of the day, and watching their movie months and years later. I can't image how priceless these will be in decades to come...

This summer I decided to start offering 'short' Day in the Life Sessions as well. It's a great way for families to get a memento of what life was like this season, if they didn't want to do a full day yet. This would be perfect for homeschooling families too, to get a documentary of what one homeschool morning looked like. It really is perfect for anyone. Maybe grandparents are over for the evening, or maybe we'd get some holiday traditions recorded - ones where both mom and dad are in the pictures.

Pictures that are professional and artistic and beautiful.

What do you think? Intrigued? Just reach out and ask for more details. I have new pricing for both morning/evening sessions (2.5 hours) and for the full day sessions. Pricing is super simple, you'll have an option on what to include to make it more budget friendly, and I am happy to work out a payment plan for the longer sessions as well.

These sessions would make AMAZING gifts for any family!

I hope you enjoy the movie from the Sunderlin family's evening with their fun boys!

Message me for details!

How to Choose a Family Photographer

Earlier this year, I was sitting at a sandwich shop with a client who wanted help in ordering an enlargement from their family session on the beach. I had various samples with me, and we were going through her choices, when a couple from the next table leaned over and told my client she was very lucky to have her photographer provide all this service for her.

I was a little surprised - what we were doing wasn’t anything extraordinary. My client wanted to order wall art, and I was helping her with her options. Then the couple confided they had paid for their daughter’s wedding photographer, who had photographed the wedding, but not delivered the images or products. She had gone out of business after the wedding.

How horrible is that?! How can you make sure this doesn’t happen to you?

I’ll address that, but let’s start at the beginning.

When you come to the decision you would like to have professional family portraits taken, you most likely have googled your area’s photographers, only to find out there are approximately a hundred to choose from. How do you pick the right photographer?

One way is to ask your family and friends to find out for recommendations. But even if you do that, I encourage you to read on.

A few things are important when it comes to choosing a photographer; his/her style, experience, personality, communication, offer and price.

You’ll want to check his/her website to make sure you like their style, the composition and the way they process image, whether their style is consistent, and if it’s what you like and prefer. Some photographers tend to have darker, moodier images, others light and airy. Are people posed, or are the images candid - or something in between? Are the images from a studio session, or from an outdoor one? Remember, there are no right or wrong answers here, we are taking about art and what is your preference. You do want to make sure your style matches theirs - or that at least you like their work.

The photographer’s website and social media pages can offer a glimpse into their personality, especially a page “About me”. Do you feel like you connect with him/her? And when you reach out, is the communication prompt, professional, friendly and courteous?

On offer and price: I know this is an important factor, yet a very personal one. You want to be clear on what you are paying for, and I believe it should be easy to understand. There are two basic models out there: 1) All-inclusive pricing where you are choosing a package that includes the session fee and typically only high resolution digital images (check that the session fee isn’t separate), or 2) You pay for a session fee, which covers the photographer’s time for the session, then you pay for the actual images and/or products afterward. With this latter model, there is often a planning meeting and a reveal session where the photographer helps you select the best products for your family. Make sure there are no hidden costs and surprises later!

More experienced photographers have usually had their businesses long enough to survive the first years. Only 40% of new photography businesses make it through their first year, 25% make it through their second year, and only 15% make it through their third year of business. Pretty shocking, if you ask me!

But when you think about it, not really. The cost of running a business is high, and professional photographers need to factor that into running a successful business. If the photographer is offering $200 all-inclusive photo sessions, they’d have to be shooting most of their waking hours to make a living at it. The photographer still needs to edit the images, run their business, AND have time for their families.

If a low price is the most important factor for you, you might want to look for a beginner photographer. They often have portfolio building sessions available for free or low cost, where you give the photographer your permission to use your images for their marketing and the session for practice. This can be a win-win situation for all, as long as your expectations match the fact that you are working with someone who has very little experience, and who is still working on their skills.

If you’d rather work with a more experienced photographer, and price is an issue, you can always ask if they offer specials, or if they have a payment plan option.

If you know you will get your images printed yourself, and make them into a book or wall art, make sure the photographer will provide you with the high resolution digital images. If you know you’ll end up with images on a thumb drive in a drawer, or an online gallery for weeks and months, and you’ll be too busy to make anything from your digital images, you’ll want to find out about the products the photographer offers. Maybe you don’t need any high resolution digital images, only some for web resolution ones social media.

Professional photographers should use professional print labs for the products they sell, so ordering through your photographer will assure you get high quality prints and products which are guaranteed to last. Yes, these are pricier than your typical consumer print websites, but you are paying for quality. Professional print labs require photographers to show proof they have a business before they can use their print lab. Some professional photographers offer a service of making a book for you from your session, and if you have ever attempted to make one yourself, you know it’s hours of work. The options are more high-end with a professional photographer than from a consumer shop. Check with the photographer on your options.

Lastly, make sure your professional photographer will provide you with a contract for your session. This really is to protect both of you. You don’t want to hire a photographer for a session (or a wedding!) and not get the images you paid for. It is best to have an agreement on the services provided. What are you paying for? What will you receive? When? What happens if there is an emergency? Most of the time you don’t have to worry about this, but it is a good and responsible business practice, just in case.

I hope these tips have been helpful for you, and if you have any additional ideas or comments, please let me know! Have fun choosing the right photographer for you!

Vero Beach Fall Availability for Family Photo Sessions

Can you believe summer is almost over? Schools have started up again, and with that sport practices, after school activities, crazy busy days and nights. For me it means I'm returning to Florida from our summer travels, and I'm able to schedule family photo sessions locally, yay!!

If fact, most of my September has booked up already, so you'll want to contact me asap to make sure to snag a session soon, if you're hoping to get your family photos taken before a big holiday that is coming up at the end of the year ;-)

I have simplified my services this summer, and while my specialty is still Day in the Life Sessions - all day family documentary work (read more here), I also offer various shorter family sessions. They are structured by their length, but can be Newborn/Fresh 48 Sessions, Portrait Sessions (families, children, seniors, engagements), or a Specialized Session such as a Mermaid Session or Farm Animal Session.

And as always, contact me about Wedding, Birth Photography and Disney Sessions.

Once you contact me we'll determine which length is perfect for your needs - I offer a 45-minute Session with a la carte ordering, or a longer (up to) 1.5 hour Session with packaged options. We can also talk about Day in the Life Sessions - or about making them a shorter Morning Day in the Life Session, or an Evening Day in the Life Session. Session pricing starts at $275.

As of this morning my September Weekend Portrait Sessions are booking very fast, but I also have Wednesday evening dates open. At the moment I have Sunday the 23rd available. (Sunday the 16th is tentatively open.)

Full day Day in the Life Sessions are offered Fridays or Saturdays, typically twice a month. And this September my only available Day in the Life Sessions are Friday, September 21st OR Saturday, September 22nd.

In order to guarantee the high quality work for my clients are expecting, I don't book multiple sessions a week. For 1.5 hour session I typically spend a minimum of fifteen hours editing, and while I enjoy every minute of it, I do love to spend time with my family :-)

If you've had a Portrait Session with me in the last year or two, chances are you have met my daughter Abby. She often comes with me to assist, and this fall we decided to make her my official assistant! She seems to intuitively know what I need as a photographer, and she is amazing with younger kids, especially one-on-one, like when we do our Mermaid Sessions.

I'm so excited to train her to become my second shooter, and to see what is needed to run a successful photography business.

See you this Fall!

Sennu & Abby

Day in the Life Video - Homeschool Family in Florida

When you have a Day in the Life Session with me, a slideshow video is included in your session price. I choose approximately 100 of the best images to tell the story of the day. I highly encourage purchasing a book as well - children love looking at the images from our day together, and it is a very special keepsake for parents, too. High resolution digital images and wall art are also available for purchase.

Sit back and enjoy this video from a homeschool family in Florida with eight children, puppies and hobby farm animals. Some of the images can also be seen in these blog posts: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.

Contact me to book your session! Limited weekday and Saturday sessions are available. Read more here.