I get this question all the time. How often should we be doing family photos?
The quick answer is about once a year. This allows you to somewhat keep up with the changes in your children over the span of in what somehow feels like five minutes. Truthfully, though, it’s less about sticking to a schedule and more about noticing when your family starts to feel different.
Maybe your little one just started sitting up on their own. Maybe your toddler’s baby face is starting to fade. Maybe you looked around the dinner table last week and thought, “it has been a while since we were all in a photo together“.
When kids are really young, I often suggest every six months, since so much changes in that first year or two. They go from gummy smiles to full-on falling-over belly laughs before you even realize it. It all happens to quickly, having these stages photographed somehow helps slow it down a bit.
Some families come into my Sinking Spring studio every year for birthdays or just before school starts. Others just have an inner nudge, telling them the time is right, while some parents realize they’ve just been putting things off for too long.
There is no rule. You do not need a big milestone or fancy outfits. You just need a moment you want to remember. And if you are waiting for the perfect time, I will gently tell you this. It is right now.
If you want to be able to flip through your memories years from now and say, “I remember that laugh” or “I forgot how tiny their hands were”, taking photos a little more often is something you’ll be grateful for.
