If you have young kids, or have friends with kids, you understand that timing is everything. You know what I’m talking about. You are hoping to go for a kid-free dinner, but you have to make sure that you leave early enough that the kids won’t be having their nighttime meltdown, but late enough that they don’t think you’ve abandoned them during their nighttime routines.

And if you’re in the camp where you have friends with kids, you are all-too-keenly aware of how kid’s schedules dictate a social timeline. No, you can’t just expect your friends to be able to leave at witching hour and be out until 3 am.

But, it’s all good! It’s part of the fun of becoming an adult and experiencing what family is all about.

Now, let’s look at this in the context of timing wall-worthy photos and the *dreaded*(beloved) photoshoot that comes along with them. I get it, not everyone loves getting their photos taken, so I’m ok to call it what it is….

Over the years, I’ve had parents tell me that I need to work a shoot around their kid’s nap schedules, medication schedules, snack schedule or even their screen-time schedule. I have rarely not obliged, but it has come at a cost to what kind of photos you will get. There is something called weighing the cost vs benefit. If you are paying a premium for a photographer who is good at what they do, my suggestion is to listen to what they have to say when it comes to timing.

I no longer offer mid-day photoshoots, especially in the middle of the summer. I want my work to be reflective of what I know I can produce and I want you, my client, to have the very best. That means we will plan our session according to the sun. An hour and a half after sunrise or before sunset is the best time for beautiful portraits. This might mean that you are keeping kids awake, or waking them up. I promise you, they won’t really remember what time it was when they are looking through an album in 10 years. But, they will enjoy seeing themselves and their family in their own personal history book. I can attest to this as my daughter picks photo albums to ‘read’ before bedtime.

Below, you’ll see a gallery of photos that were started at 6:00 in October in Northwestern Ontario. The sun up here is harsh in the summer and in the daytime and because of that, we have to be so picky about when we choose to shoot and you can see by looking through these, that nothing beats that beautiful glowy light.

Comment below some of the hurdles you face either as a parent who is trying to get a family ready for photos or a photographer who struggles with how to time things (or maybe the messaging that you send to your clients to inform them of the proper timing) and we will write about our tips and tricks that have helped hundreds of families throughout the years!

*This post is the first in a series where we discuss how to take beautiful photos in the harsh light that we experience in Canada*