So bf and I are having pictures taken by a friend of the family, I have a few questions.
The pictures will be of our family around our new house. She is thinking a fall setting would be better, however I would like to get new pictures around the house ASAP. When would you do your pictures to have the best turn out? I have not done family pictures outside yet!.
Also she is doing this for no profit, only to use our pictures as advertising. I would like to "donate" to the new business because I feel her time is worth at least something. How much would you "donate"? We dont know what her prices are going to be yet.
I am a professional photographer. I would say the best time to take pics is 1 hour after sunrise or 1 hour before sunset. It's called the "golden hour". You get the best natural lighting and you won't have the sun glaring in everyones eyes.
My home looks much better in the summer than any other time of year. The lighting is better from the summer sun but you can't beat the colors of fall leaves for great pictures. My wedding photos have beautiful yellows, reds and oranges from the changing of the leaves. Some even inquired about the "backdrop" it was just so perfect. Then I made them look more closely in the background at the houses across the street beyond the trees. LOL.
If you are doing this as a favor, do what the photographer wants. If you are willing to pay full price for the services then go with the time frame you want. It may even be fun and nice to do it twice.
Talk to your friend about your concerns and you should be able to come up with some viable solution.
I understand wanting pictures up as soon as possible!
However, if your friend is going to be using your portraits in her advertising or portfolio and taking them for free, I would let her do it when she is ready. I take pictures on the side and the fall is absolutely gorgeous as a backdrop. Summer is pretty too, but I think that it will be worth the wait. If you think about it, It's only 2-3 months away! YIKES!!
I think if she is doing this for advertising and giving you a great deal on the pictures I would do it only when she is requesting. Otherwise I think I'd wait until the house is fully decorated for Christmas and use one of the pictures for the family Christmas cards.
I think that fall pictures would be really nice. You can take some pictures with your phone or your own camera to show off the house to your friends who can't see it first hand right now.
