The Best Time for Family Photos & A Hot Take | by Shreveport Photographer Candace Chaney
If I was forced to tell you what the ideal time of year was for family photos, I might say October or April for all the obvious weather-related reasons. But the truth is that the best time is always now.
My hot take (pun intended!): consider August.
Yes, our Louisiana swamp air makes it as blue blazes in the summer months, BUT there are good workarounds and for good reasons:
1. August is a time of liminal space, that is, important transitional movements in the life of your family. Your son is about to move out and go to college. Your daughter is about to start kindergarten. You've stored up memories from being together this summer and it feels like things have shifted a little. You've all grown in ways you can feel. These in between times can be so sacred and well worth the effort to schedule a session.
2. It's back-to-school season and all the extra curricular things that clog up your family's schedule haven't started yet, so there's more wiggle room to get this checked off for the year.
3. The best times for photos, the hour just after sunrise and just before sunset, are much more forgiving. You'd be surprised.
4. Hybrid indoor and outdoor sessions can not only provide some cooling time, but also some good variety. Windows make for beautiful portraits!
5. After years and years in the business of family photography, I know my way around a family session. I can get a lot done in a short amount of time.
Life gets so busy and we push things to the side, becoming numb to the gifts we have right in front of us right now. I'll always stand by the truth that NOW is always best time to schedule the session. Tomorrow is as slippery and elusive as a greased watermelon in a swimming pool. Now is what we have- let's go!
