5 Reasons why you need a Professional Family Session {Melissa Maahs Photography // Courtice Oshawa Whitby Photographer}

I photographed a very sweet family recently. When mom contacted me she wrote in her questionnaire that one of the main reasons she wanted a professional photoshoot is that her family has never had a photoshoot and they she did not have any nice pictures of herself with her family, except for very few cell phone pictures. She made 2019 the year that she was going to exist in photos with her family. I’m so happy she did this for herself and her family!

There are many reasons why I think families need a professional family session. Here are my top 5 reasons:

1. Enjoy the full experience a professional photographer can provide.

Hand off the stress of wardrobe coordination, location scouting, lighting, posing, and getting everyone to respond, to a professional who can handle the chaos. A professional photographer will help plan the session in regards to all those things. A professional photographer also has the expertise and software to design artwork from your family photos for your home. Let a professional take care of the design, ordering, and delivery of your final print products to enjoy in your home and add to your visual family archive.

2. Show your children how important they are by proudly displaying portraits of them in your home.

Studies have shown that children who grow up in homes where there are pictures of them on the walls, in an album, or on a shelf, have higher self esteem. When they see photos of themselves proudly displayed it makes them feel important and loved. Even just a simple task of displaying a portrait of your children helps them celebrate who they are and lets them know that they are important.

3. Create memories with your family.

Your family photoshoot will be memorable! You will love, laugh, and have fun with your family during your session. That alone is a very good reason to hire a professional photographer. So many families have inquired saying that they tried to take a family photo of themselves using their cell phone on a tripod and it didn’t go so well. It’s next to impossible to get everyone together and posed in a flattering way. Believe me, as a photographer I’ve tried it. It’s HARD! Everyone usually ends up frustrated and stressed. Let a professional do the dirty work for you. Kids are more likely to listen to a stranger for photos than listen to your commands. When you hire a professional to take over with the photo taking, you can focus on your having a great experience with your family and be assured that you will end up with amazing pictures and memories.

4. A professional photographer can help create custom artwork of your family for your home.

A professional photographer has the benefit of having access to professional print labs who only offer high-quality, archival products. A professional photographer also has the expertise in designing wall art such as custom framing, wall galleries, custom albums, etc. to enjoy in your home and eventually pass down to the next generation of your family. My clients tell me that they love the fact that I make it a priority to sit down with them during a consultation (both before and after the session) to help them decide what to do with their favourite photos from their session. I can help make suggestions about sizing and image options. Together, we make sure we put together the perfect products for your tastes to display and enjoy in your home, whether you plan to hang portraits on your walls or display your portraits in a beautiful, timeless heirloom album or keepsake box. I have invested in specialized software so that I can take a picture of a space in your home and show you exactly what pictures will look like on your walls or shelf. This helps tremendously when trying to make decisions about how to layout pictures in your home.

5. Give your children, and generations after them, the gift of photos of you.

There’s a quote that I’ve seen floating around Instagram-land the last little while. It reads: “One day your children will be looking for photos of you. What will they find?”  Think about that for a minute! Really, what will they find?! Do you expect your family to look through USBs or hard drives with thousands of mediocre digital images on them? What if those storage mediums are corrupt? After all, they do not last forever. And let’s face it, not many people take the time to back up cell phone photos onto a hard drive these days. Yes, people save photos to a cloud storage of some sort, but normally there are thousands and thousands of pictures to sift through. Who has time to go through thousands of photos? Also, if they do have access to digital images stored on a hard drive or the cloud, how likely is it that they will find high quality photos of you? Especially photos that have enough resolution to make print enlargements to put in a frame. Why not give your family the gift of having professional photos of you, and you with them, at their fingertips to enjoy today, and eventually enjoy as part of your family legacy.

Hello and thank you for visiting my blog! I’m Melissa, the photographer behind the camera at Melissa Maahs Photography, a Durham Region, Ontario, full service family photographer offering custom family portrait sessions. I’m sure you’ve already come to the conclusion that I’m passionate about photography! Besides begin passionate about photography, I’m also passionate and dedicated to the experience I provide to  my clients and the process of making pictures into tangible pieces of art for you and your family to enjoy daily. Your art pieces will truly be treasured family heirlooms.

I thoroughly enjoy meeting, getting to know my clients and listening to their family stories. I love collaborating with clients on the endeavour of transforming their family stories into tangible art pieces of moments shared with their loved ones that will be frozen in time – forever in a photograph.

Lastly, I believe in photographs. Printed, tangible photographs that can be held in your hands, enjoyed on a wall, or flipped through in an album. My mission is to help every client create their photographic family heirlooms that can be enjoyed by you and your family for many generations to come!

If you love photographs as much as I do feel free to contact me and we can chat about how I can help you to create timeless photographic art to display and enjoy in your home.

For detailed session information, click here.

To see more of my work please view my portfolio here.