We have all been there… including me! Yes, even I have waited too long to book a portrait session for my own family.  There was always an excuse or a reason for continuously postponing getting our pictures taken.  I know what its like and I am here to tell you to stop putting it off.  I know what you are going to tell me.  These are the top 7 reasons people don’t book photo sessions:

1 Reason People Don’t Book: “Our schedules are so busy right now so I don’t think we have time to schedule a photography session.”

I get it.  Life gets in the way and we fill up our schedules more than we need to sometimes.  With work and house chores and school and practices and etc…. It can feel like we can’t schedule one more thing.  And if our weekdays aren’t busy enough we tend to fit everything else into a weekend.

BUT… luckily I book way in advance.  And so I can help you choose a date that will work with your schedule and because we book it so far ahead you plan to leave that day open.  That day is booked and therefore you won’t schedule anything else in place of it.  And booking with me means that I walk you through the whole process of preparing for your session so that you don’t feel overwhelmed when it arrives.

2nd Reason People Don’t Book: “I can’t afford to pay for a photography session, especially if I can probably find someone else to do it for free or half the price.”

I hear ya!  I mean I am a professional photographer and one of the things I constantly dwelled on was that fact that I have all the equipment available to photograph my own family and therefore why pay someone to do it for me.   And if you are not a professional photographer you probably notice that there are a million photographers out there that you can choose from that are offering sessions at a fraction of the cost.

BUT…in my situation I still chose to invest in a knowledgeable photographer to take my family portraits.  I did it because I wanted to be in front of the camera with my son.  I wanted to enjoy every moment that she captured… real moments that she helped create in front of the camera.  The same goes for you!  Let someone else take those images… and allow yourself to JUST BE with your family in front of the camera.  I will never regret investing in images like these.

AND… I know that there are photographers doing the work at a fraction of the cost.  I used to be one of them!  When I started out more than 10 years ago I didn’t charge what I do now and here is why.  Over the years I have invested so much in learning more about photography, upgrading my equipment, and growing my business.  Back then I did not produce what I do now.  Go back and look at my first images (first pic below) when investing with JIP was not what it is today and compare it to what I produce now (second pic below)… you will always get what your investment pays for. And I make it easy for you to invest in JIP, providing payment plans (with no interest) to help you pay for your images in smaller chunks.

3rd Reason People Don’t Book: “My phone takes great pictures so I will just use that to take a family portrait.”

Yes!  Camera phones have definitely come a long way.  I am the first one to upgrade a phone if it means the camera is better.  And when I don’t have my “big camera” I use my IPhone to take the pic.  I have learned how to use my iPhone to get the best images.

BUT… most of the time I am not in the picture!  I have pictures of everyone else in my family including the dogs… but I am no where to be found except for the occasional selfie.

AND…Phone camera images can’t be blown up if you wanted to print any bigger than a 5×7-any bigger and it starts to lose detail and sharpness.  So forget about printing a large canvas to hang on your wall… the image would look nothing like the one you see in your phone gallery.  Leave the camera phone images for posting on social media or for printing small desk prints… and instead hire a photographer than can produce images that can fill up the walls of your home.

4th Reason People Don’t Book: “I don’t like how I look right now, and I feel so awkward in front of the camera so I know the photos will not look good.”

This is one I hear a lot.  And I think women are more guilty of this than anyone else.  We worry about our current hair style, our weight, our skin and wrinkles, etc.  You name it and we can always find something about ourselves we don’t want photographed.

BUT… our kids don’t care about our wrinkles and our weight or our recent haircuts.  Years from now when they look back at these images they won’t point out the things that bother us the most.  Instead they will see you!  They will see their mom’s beautiful smile and remember how it felt when you held them in your arms. And the images from that day will remind them of the moments that are no longer there.  A friend of mine who recently lost her mother is heartbroken that she has very little pictures of her and family portraits are pretty much nonexistent.  Our kids will thank us later for doing this for them!

5th Reason People Don’t Book: “My kids won’t cooperate” or “My kids don’t like to get their picture taken.”

I get it.  You worry about your very active preschooler or your timid toddler.  Or maybe you worry about your teenager that prefers to be home than to get his picture taken (I have one of those).  I hear this all the time and sometimes at the end of the session a mama will say “I hope you got at least one good one.”  They are so surprised that I didn’t just get one I got a full gallery of good ones.  We all worry about how our kids will behave in front of a perfect stranger… especially one with a camera at hand.

BUT… I have never met a child that didn’t “cooperate” with me.  I have worked with children for over twenty years as an educator. And being a mother of a teenage boy definitely should give me more credit here.  My experience has given me the tools that I need to work with kids of all ages.

AND…my secret to making sure your kids “cooperate” is to allow them to be themselves.  They are never forced to do something they don’t want to do and following their lead helps make sure they love being in front of my camera lens.

6th Reason People Don’t Book: “I have nothing to wear.”

If you are like me you definitely feel this way.  I think I lack a sense of fashion for sure!  But as difficult it is for me to dress myself… it is so easy for me to help you find something to wear for your session.

SO… don’t worry about this one!  I have a WHAT TO WEAR GUIDE that can help you get started with plenty of examples of color schemes and places to shop.  And while you choose outfits, I can definitely give suggestions if you text me some pictures of what you are considering.

7th Reason People Don’t Book: “I have to wait until _____.”

Fill in the blank here.  I can tell you that I used to say that I wouldn’t get our portrait taken until our family was complete.  And then I realized that our family was complete at that specific time even if it meant that my family was only composed of me and my son.  So I stopped waiting and hired a photographer to take our family pictures.

SO… stop waiting.  The truth is that there never is a right time.  There will always be something that you consider getting in the way of scheduling a photo session for you and your family.  We don’t know what the future holds… we don’t know what tomorrow will bring… and so just do it!  Don’t wait until ________, because that may never happen.  Don’t let these 7 reasons keep you from scheduling your photo session. Schedule it NOW!