5 Simple Tips for Booking Photography Successfully for your Estes Park Family Reunion
Getting the entire family together in Estes Park is a feat unto itself, so don’t miss this opportunity to capture it through photography. This is an awesome time to get a family portrait done and make keepsakes that the entire family will cherish forever. It can be difficult to coordinate with so many people though and make sure that your extended family portrait goes off without a hitch. Here are my top five tips for making sure that the entire family has a great time and those photos are captured at your next family reunion in Estes Park.
Tip #1: Designate one person to coordinate the family photography
Communication is key when booking and planning family photography for a family reunion. There can be too many cooks in the kitchen. So have just one person be the point person for the photography. This person should be the one finding and booking the photographer, coordinating with the photographer, and coordinating the group for the session. Make sure that no one else reaches out to the photographer on their own. All questions and concerns should go through this point person. Why is this so important? Because important information can get lost if the photographer is talking to more than one person. Not only can information the photographer is trying to the entire family get lost, but information in the other direction as well. The photographer could get conflicting information on needs/wants and logistics of the family.
Tip #2: Ask your Family Photographer the Right Questions before Booking
As a photographer, I wish finding and booking a photographer was an easier task. Not all photographers are created equal and, unless you are trained in looking for the best photographers as a professional photographer like me will be, it can be hard to decipher if you are booking a photographer that can be relied upon to be at the session and deliver photos you’ll love and be proud of. Additionally, finding a family photographer that knows how to work with an extended family adds an additional layer. It is a skillset that not every family photographer is proficient. Beyond the basic questions of booking a family photographer, here are additional questions I would ask:
Is there an additional charge for an extended family session?
When you are booking photography for a family reunion, you are booking what we call in the photography business an “extended family session”. This entails that we are including family beyond the nuclear unit. This can often mean needing additional time, as most family sessions are designed to provide enough time for just one nuclear family unit. Therefore, many photographers will have an additional charge for including people beyond a single family unity or above a certain amount of people. Make sure you are aware if there are any additional charges for more people, as those charges may show up later when you’re not expecting them.
What types of photos do you typically capture during an extended family session?
Because family photography typically revolves around a single family unit, things may change when a larger group is involved. For example, you may get more of the “traditionally posed” images. In fact, I would expect it, as getting the more “candid” photos can be much more difficult as your group gets larger and larger. It is important to ask how a photographer’s style and deliverables will change with a larger group. Their family photography portfolio is going to be based on immediate family units, so what you get may differ from what you’re seeing on their website.
How do you deal with weather and our limited time here in Estes Park?
Weather is always unpredictable and especially so in Colorado. Since you most likely have at least some of your group coming from out of town, it is a good idea to know what the plan will be if the weather is not conducive to photos at the time planned on by your group and the photographer. What I typically do as a photographer is hold two evenings for my out-of-state clients back-to-back, so that we are hedging our bets for great weather on portrait day. The photographer you speak with might have a different weather back-up option.
Is there a travel fee for sessions in Estes Park and/or Rocky Mountain National Park?
You will find that most family photographers that work in Estes Park do not live in Estes Park. This is because Estes Park is primarily a town for tourists. Since it will typically be an hour or hour and a half for your photographer to get to Estes Park, make sure you know if there will be a travel fee in addition to their typical sitting fee. This will not always be the case. For example, I don’t charge an additional fee for Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park because that is where I do the majority of my work.
Do you have location suggestions within Rocky Mountain National Park or Estes Park that will accommodate our group?
Some photographers will require that you have a location in mind when booking photography. If you are not familiar with the area and don’t have a way of figuring out where to have your photography done, then this isn’t going to work very well for you. In addition to the fact that some trails in the area can’t accommodate family portraits and views need to also align with the lighting to actually be in the photos, it is very common for locations in Colorado to require photo permits. Unfortunately photo permits aren’t always an easy thing to navigate. Also, Rocky Mountain National Park has the added element of timed entry. It is best to work with a photographer that knows Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park well and can tell you locations that they suggest for your group depending on size, accessibility needs, and backdrop preferences and then can help with navigating timed entry and permits.
How do you navigate working with kids?
Kids can add an additional difficulty to family portraits. If your photographer is not familiar with working with kids, it can make it really difficult to get good photos taken when kids are involved. I would make sure that you see kids in their portfolio, but also ask them how they navigate working with kids. You’ll know if they are experienced just by how they talk about it. If they stumble their words, it would probably be best to look elsewhere for your photographer.
Tip #3: Compile a Shot List with your Photographer
Compiling a shot list with my extended family clients has always been a must do for me as a photographer. The last thing we want to do is go through an entire session, have the photos delivered, and realize that we didn’t capture that one combination. Family is coming from afar and not always near each other at other times, so it is important to capture the most important combinations through a shot list. Your photographer should be able to start you with a typical shot list and then you, as the designated photography person in the family, can fill it in and solicit photos from other members of the family too. Make sure you are working closely with the photographer though to make sure that what is on your list is doable with the time allotted and the other logistics that can dictate photos at a portrait.
Don’t forget about the funny photos too. It can be fun to get a funny photos when you’ve got adult cousins or siblings together. Family should be fun after all!
Tip #4: Establish a Color Scheme for Outfits
Having many people in a photo can already make it busy, don’t add to that with a hodgepodge of outfits. It is advisable to come up with a standard color scheme for everyone and then letting each person pick out their clothes within that color scheme with a few other parameters in mind. For a color scheme, you’ll want to choose three to four colors that everyone can wear. This color scheme should be coordinated with the photographer, so that you know it works with their editing. Additionally, they can help figure out a good color scheme for the location you chose and the season. Here are some of my favorite color schemes for Estes Park:
For Summer Portrait Sessions, I recommend doing jewel tones in the following:
Blues, grays, whites, and blacks
Greens, blues, grays, and whites
Greens, blues, reds, and grays
Purples, blues, grays, and whites
For Fall Portrait Sessions, I recommend doing jewel tones in the following:
Reds, burnt oranges, browns, and creams
Purples, blues, whites, and blacks
Dark greens, blues, purples, and browns
My color schemes for extended family sessions tend to include more colors than what I recommend for immediate family unit sessions, as too much color within a smaller grouping can look busy. With the larger grouping though, it works. It especially works when each immediate family picks one color and one neutral within the larger color scheme, because it shows each immediate family distinctively and works when they do their smaller groupings as well.
When it comes to the other parameters, it includes these for an extended family session. I don’t recommend that anyone wear graphics or large logos. They can distract from the most important subject of the photos, you and your family. I also recommend that within each immediate family, no more than one print is utilized. In fact, prints can easily become distracting to so it can be best to use them very sparingly.
The Family Reunion T-Shirt
If you are doing a family reunion t-shirt, make sure to get a photo with that as well. It is easy enough to have everyone wear the shirt over their other outfit to snag a shot or two in the t-shirt. It can be a great momento from the reunion that everyone can have a great time looking at later.
Tip #5: Find the Right Photo Session Location
Remember how in tip #2 I said to make sure and work with a photographer familiar with the area and willing to give location recommendations. That will come in really handy for this tip. A location can’t just be beautiful to work for a family photo. It needs to work photographically and logistically as well. Here are some of the considerations I would take into account when choosing a location:
Views - make sure they are the views that mean the most to you in this area. There is no point in going all the way to Estes Park for your family reunion, if you don’t take advantage of the majestic views. Also, make sure that the views can be captured during the session. Depending on the time of day, only certain directions can be photographed due to lighting. This is where working with your photographer is greatly helpful.
Shade - the lighting is harsh in the mountains, so it is extremely helpful to have at least some shade at your portrait location. It can also be helpful for when people need a rest in between photos out of the sun.
Parking - make sure that everyone who will be driving to the location can find parking at the location. There are some places that are drop dead gorgeous in the Estes Park area, but they won’t work well for an extended family portrait because only one to two cars can park there. You will obviously want to carpool, but you’ll still probably need to find a place with ample parking as well.
Space - make sure there is enough space for everyone to be in the photos and to be out of the photos while not blocking the right of way for everyone else enjoying that spot in the park.
Accessibility - I don’t think I need to tell you that there are a lot of beautiful spots in Estes Park that are not accessible to everyone of all abilities. Make sure that the location you are choosing can be accessed by everyone involved.
Bonus Tip: Navigating Rocky Mountain National Park and Timed Entry
Making sure that you understand timed entry within Rocky Mountain National Park will help not only your portrait photography experience, but your entire experience within the park. When choosing locations for your session, make sure you understand if that location is within the general part of the park or within Bear Lake Corridor. This and the time of your photo session will dictate if you need timed entry or not for your session. Remember that even if you already have timed entry for the park, your photographer will need it as well. So, especially, if you are booking close to the session time, this is a major consideration when choosing a location. For more information about Rocky Mountain National Park timed entry, always refer to the main website for the national park - https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/timed-entry-permit-system.htm
Although booking photography for your family reunion may mean some work, it is definitely worth it. There is nothing worse than getting the entire family together and then realizing that you have nothing to show for it. It will mean keepsakes that you and future generations of your family will cherish for years to come. If you’re interested in booking family photography for your family reunion, feel free to check out my services. I absolutely love doing extended family sessions in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Sara Herkes is a maternity, newborn, family, and senior photographer based in Longmont, CO. She serves the the Denver Metro Area, the Colorado Rockies, and the Northern Front Range and captures your pregnancy amidst the Colorado wilderness. Learn more about her services here.
Ultimate Family Photography Guide
Check out these blogs posts below
