Children Grow Up Fast | Columbus Ohio Family Photographer
Every new parent wants to document as much as possible when they have a new baby. But at some point, everyone seems to stop scheduling family photos.
Don’t make this common mistake as your children grow up.
Families get busy, schedules become jam-packed, and life falls into “routine.” Before you realize it, another year has passed without updating family photos.
Here’s one piece of advice as a parent and a photographer: Schedule yearly family photos.
If you don’t think your kids are changing very much from year to year, especially once they grow beyond those adorable infant and toddler years, then think again. They are always changing.
A Perk of Scheduling Annual Family Photos
There’s a level of comfort that comes with working with the same photographer year after year. Trust has been established, so it gets easier and easier for everyone.
With repeat clients, family photos feel more like a casual hangout with friends. We’re on a first-name basis, and everyone knows what to expect during the family photo session.
The Lam family knows exactly what I'm talking about. I’ve photographed this family for three years in a row now. As you'll see in their photos, we get silly and have fun. That’s part of the perks of working with the same photographer (and family!) each year.
The Lam family loves being outdoors, so we went to some of their favorite parks for their family sessions. We went to Highbanks Metro Park in Lewis Center, Ohio, and M.L. Red Trabue Nature Reserve in Dublin, Ohio.
Children Don’t Stop Growing Because We Get Busy
It’s no surprise that people have family photos taken yearly when their kids are young. Children change a LOT in those first few years.
But then something changes.
When children hit the ages of five or six, families stop scheduling yearly photo sessions. (Hard truth: this has even happened in my home, and I'm a photographer!)
Why? I've seen a few common reasons.
Life and schedules get busy.
Parents don't think their children are changing "that much."
Life gets into a comfortable routine - and photos take a back seat.
Kids are usually in school by this point, too. Parents may think school photos will capture the yearly changes in their children. While that’s true to some extent, school photos don't show your family together.
School photos don’t show the family growing and changing together. They don’t show how much taller the kids grew over a year. And they don’t usually show much personality.
But here’s the thing - children don’t stop growing because we get busy.
Kids are changing every day, even after the age of five. The middle years (elementary to high school) are as important to document as the younger years.
And those middle years are when the personality starts to shine. Their clothing, their hair, their smile, all of it changes so much during those middle years.
When families don't have yearly photos taken, they end up with a gap in their family photo albums. Those "middle years" are gone forever.<