Family Sessions Information

Welcome to Buena Lane Photography! We hope you’ll feel at home.

Meet Eileen

As a seasoned family photographer, I’m interested in bringing out the spirit and personalities that make your family special. Your photos will be a time capsule, capturing your life as it is in this moment. Sometimes that means giggles, sometimes a mess, but hopefully lots of fun.

Ensuring that each session is comfortable and relaxed for your family is the ultimate goal. The best result we could achieve is that your kids leave a session unable to differentiate our time from your average day at the park.

“Eileen did an amazing job taking family photos of my 1-year-old son, my husband and myself. I thought she hit the perfect, rare balance of capturing the moment and composing the shot. I will cherish the photos she captured of us with our son forever. On top of the gorgeous end result, I have to add that Eileen made the process of the actual shoot super fun, so working with her was a great experience from the moment she walked in the door.”

- ALiSA

Booking Your Session

STEP ONE

In order to reserve a date, you will sign some paperwork and pay a session fee of $325. If we haven't already, the easiest way to compare calendars is for you to email or call me with a few dates that work for your family - I always try to be as flexible as possible, and once we find a date, booking is 100% online and takes just a few minutes.

As you pull out your calendar, here are a few things to consider:

Weekend dates are limited and popular, and thus incur a $50 charge in addition to your choice of collections. Many clients who work regular business hours find that by scheduling early in the morning or late in the afternoon, they're able to work a session in with almost no time lost at the office.

Given the beautiful colors and temperate weather, spring and fall are the busiest times of year for outdoor family photos in the Bay Area. If you'd like a session during one of those times (ESPECIALLY if you want a weekend spot), please get in touch as soon as possible!

If you have a particular date or holiday by which you need prints or gifts (Mother's Day, Father's Day, Hanukkah, Christmas, etc.), be sure to book a date at least one month in advance of that date to ensure sufficient processing and printing time.

Babies and young children are almost universally at their very best first thing in the morning, which just happens to also be a great time of day for beautiful light. If you have children under five years old, I encourage you to consider a session at or as close to sunrise as you can reasonably be ready. If you have older children or have one of those rare babies that doesn't do mornings, the other time of day that gives us great light is late afternoon/early evening - usually around 90 minutes before sunset.

Beautiful photographs can be made in any kind of weather, but I understand that there are some downsides to being photographed in the pouring rain or the freezing cold. I can and do reschedule sessions for inclement weather, but am also happy to use your home or one of my indoor or semi-indoor locations if sticking to the schedule is a priority.

About Your Session

STEP TWo

Once we've decided on a time and date and officially put your session on the books, I'll send you a Preparing for your Session Guide that will walk you through everything from choosing outfits to strategies for getting kids to cooperate. That guide has been created and refined over years of experience, so it typically answers 90% of the questions that come up, but I'm always happy to set up a time to chat if you want additional help. A few days before our session is scheduled, I'll reach out to confirm our time and location.

At that point, if the forecast is questionable or someone seems to be coming down with the flu, we can talk about our rescheduling options. Otherwise, that's the perfect time to ask any last-minute questions or let me know if you've come up with a fun idea we haven't discussed.

The day of the session, please block off 2-2.5 hours (2.5-3 hours for a newborn). Typically we're done within an hour or so, but I don't charge by the hour, so if there's some kind of wardrobe malfunction or child meltdown, I like to stay flexible. If a parent has to leave for an important meeting but the rest of the family is still available, that's fine... just let me know ahead of time so I can focus on getting that parent in the frame more while they're still available. 

Finally, take a breath and relax! I promise to give the grown-ups (and kids) breaks throughout the session as needed, and to make it as painless as possible for everyone involved!

The Fun Part!

STEP Three

Within just a couple of weeks of your session, you'll receive an email from me letting you know that your photos are ready. Once you've had a chance to see them and marvel for a bit, you'll let me know which collection you want to purchase. After that, you'll have a full month to select the specific digital files and print items you want to use to fill that collection... zero pressure! There are lots of options and I am happy to provide guidance and suggestions of favorite products. 

COLLECTION B  

Pre-session Phone Consultation 

Family Session Prep Guide

Choice of 20 High Resolution Digital Files with Print Release 

$375 Gallery Credit (good toward your choice of anything in the gallery store: prints, frames, albums, digital files, etc.)

$1,200

What you're going to do with your images is perhaps the most important aspect to consider when you're planning for a photo session, but it's all too often the aspect that's overlooked! Let’s not let your photos sit hidden on a hard drive somewhere. You'll never get the same feeling looking at your photos on a screen as you will seeing them on your wall or flipping through the pages of an album, so I’ve include a substantial print credit with every collection.

Below is a sample of some of the items you can choose from:

Framed Fine Art Prints

With its premium matte inkjet coating, Hahnemühle Photo Rag® is the industry standard for fine art, archival photo prints. These stunning prints come pre-assembled with matte and your choice of white or black frame.

8 x 10 $230

11 x 14 $310

16 x 20 $405

20 x 24 $475

Questions?

Please email eileen@buenalane.com!