What to Expect at Your Family Session

Here's something I've noticed after many years of photographing families across Palm Desert and the Coachella Valley: the families who arrive most anxious — fretting over the outfits, the weather, whether the toddler will melt down the second we begin — are very often the ones who end up loving their photos the most. The nerves almost always come down to one thing: not knowing what's actually going to happen. So let me take that off your plate and walk you through the whole thing, start to finish, the way I would if we were sitting together over coffee before your shoot.

This is the honest version: what actually happens, what to wear, when to come, where we go, and how I keep it feeling easy even when the desert sun and a three-year-old have other plans. My goal is for you to arrive relaxed, knowing exactly what to expect, so you can simply be together while I do the rest.

Before we ever pick up a camera

A good family session begins long before the shoot. When you first reach out, we talk — really talk — about who your family is right now. Are your kids tiny and unpredictable, or teenagers who would rather be anywhere else? Are the grandparents finally in town, and you want everyone in one frame for the first time in years? Is this about a milestone — a new baby, a move to the valley, a last winter before someone heads off to college?

I ask because the answers shape everything: the time of day, the location, the pace, even how I'll direct on the day. A session built around your real life always feels more like you than one squeezed into a generic template.

We'll also settle the practical pieces ahead of time so nothing is rushed:

• The date and time (more on timing below — it matters more here than almost anywhere else in the country).
• The location, chosen for your family's energy and the look you love.
• What everyone will wear, which I am always happy to help plan.
• How long we'll need — most family sessions run about an hour to ninety minutes, which is plenty for variety without exhausting the little ones.

By the time your session arrives, there are no surprises. You know where to park, who's bringing the snacks, and what the first ten minutes will look like.

When to book: timing is everything in the desert

If you take one thing from this whole guide, let it be this: in the Coachella Valley, the time of day makes or breaks a family session. Our light is glorious, but it is also intense, and the calendar runs differently here than it does almost everywhere else.

Golden hour, not high noon

When we're outdoors — at a park, a garden, or a scenic overlook — I photograph families in the first hour or two after sunrise or in the golden hour before sunset. The light then is soft, warm, and flattering; it wraps gently around faces and gives the whole scene a glow you can't fake. The middle of the day is a different animal in the desert: the light goes flat and unkind, and the heat wears everyone down. So outdoors, we follow the good light rather than fight it. (Indoors is a happier story — a living room with decent windows is photogenic at almost any hour, which is one more reason I love working in homes.)

In winter, golden hour comes early — a 4:00 or 4:30 session can have you wrapped before dinner. In the long days of late spring, we might not start until 6:30 or 7:00 in the evening. Sunrise sessions are my quiet favorite with young children, because little ones are at their freshest and the valley is calm and cool before the day heats up.

The seasons here

Our calendar is shaped by two realities: snowbird season (roughly November through April), when the weather is glorious and the valley is full, and summer, when the heat is no joke.

• November through April is prime family-photo season in Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells, and La Quinta. Comfortable temperatures, golden desert tones, and — if you're visiting family for the holidays or escaping a cold climate — often the one window when the whole family is in town. This season books up. If you want photos around Thanksgiving, the December holidays, or spring break, reach out several weeks ahead.
• May through October can absolutely work, but we plan carefully. In high summer I shoot almost exclusively at sunrise, keep sessions shorter, and choose shaded or higher-elevation spots. Honestly, some July afternoons top 115 degrees, and that is simply not a kind environment for a baby. We just adjust — early, brief, and well-hydrated.

If your family gathers here once a year, my best advice is simple: book the moment you know your dates. The good golden-hour slots in peak season go first.

What to wear

Outfits cause more pre-session stress than anything else, so let me make it easy. The goal is for your family to look like yourselves — comfortable, coordinated, and at ease — not matchy or stiff.

A few principles I share with every family:

• Think palette, not uniform. Choose two or three colors and let everyone live somewhere inside that range — a little variety reads warmer than five identical shirts. Soft, earthy tones — cream, sand, sage, terracotta, dusty blue, warm neutrals — photograph beautifully whether we're in your home or out among the greenery, and they never date the images.
• Avoid large logos, bright neons, and busy patterns. They pull the eye away from faces. One gentle pattern in the group is lovely; five competing ones is chaos.
• Dress for the texture of light here. Flowing fabrics catch the desert breeze and the golden light gorgeously. A long dress that moves, a linen shirt, a soft cardigan layered for cooler winter evenings.
• Comfort first, especially for kids. A child who hates their scratchy collar will tell you so with their whole face. Let them feel good and they'll forget the camera.
• Think about your home. If your living room is full of cool grays and you hang an image in warm rust tones, it may fight the room. Picture where these photos will live.

If you send me a photo of what everyone's planning, I'm glad to look it over before the day. I would much rather spend five minutes on that with you than have you wonder. For a deeper look, I've written a full companion piece on what to wear for desert family photos.

Where we shoot: your home and the gardens nearby

Most of my family sessions happen in two places, and they are the heart of how I work: inside your own home, and at the neighborhood parks, gardens, and patios close to where you live. That's my signature, and it isn't a compromise — it's a choice. These are the settings where families actually relax, where children behave like themselves, and where the photographs end up looking like your real life rather than a postcard.

• Your own home or vacation rental. This is my favorite place to photograph a family. Soft natural light through the windows, kids piled on a bed, the worn-in corner of the couch where everyone really gathers — the place where your life actually happens. For families with a newborn or very young children, an in-home session is wonderfully low-stress: no packing, no drive, no nap thrown off schedule. We work with the window light room by room, and it is endlessly flattering.
• Local parks, gardens, and shaded patios. A green park near your neighborhood, a botanical garden, a courtyard full of palms — these give us room to roam and a little outdoor magic without a long expedition. Photographed in the golden hour, the greenery and warm light wrap around everyone beautifully, and the kids have space to run.

If you'd love a more scenic, distinctly-desert backdrop for some of your frames, the valley offers wonderful options too, and I'm glad to plan around them:

• Desert gardens and oases, like the lush, palm-shaded settings around Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, offer greenery and texture in a softer, more intimate frame.
• Architectural and mid-century settings in Palm Springs lend a clean, stylish, distinctly-here feeling if your family loves a more modern look.
• A scenic desert overlook for that quintessential Coachella Valley look — warm light, distant mountains, open sky — when you want one or two dramatic, wide frames to round out the gallery.

If you're not sure, that's what I'm here for. Tell me the mood you're after and I'll suggest a handful of spots that fit your family, your timing, and how far you'd like to travel.

What the session actually feels like

Here's the part people are most curious about: what do you actually do once we're there?

The honest answer is — less posing than you'd think. I work more like a guide than a director. I'll get you settled, give you something simple to do (walk together, whisper a secret, chase the little one), and then I step back and let real moments happen. The frames you'll love most are rarely the stiff "everybody look here and smile" shots. They're the in-between ones — your daughter laughing at your husband's terrible joke, a grandparent's hand on a small shoulder, the way your family naturally folds into each other.

I'll mix it up: a few classic, everyone-looking portraits for the wall and the holiday card, then plenty of relaxed, in-between, playful frames. We'll do some of the whole group, some of just the kids, some of the two of you, maybe each child on their own. By the end you'll have real variety without ever feeling like you ran a marathon.

I keep my own energy steady on a shoot, and I do it deliberately. Children read the room. If I'm rushed and tense, they feel it; if I'm easy and patient, they settle — and so do you.

When you're bringing little ones

Family sessions with babies, toddlers, and young children deserve their own honest conversation, because they are wonderfully unpredictable and that is completely okay.

• Time it around naps and meals. A well-rested, fed child is a different human. This is exactly why sunrise sessions work so well with toddlers.
• Bring snacks and water — for them and for you. Our dry desert air dehydrates quickly, and a small snack can reset a wobbly mood in seconds. (Avoid anything that stains little mouths right before we start.)
• Let me earn their trust. I won't rush a shy child. We'll often start with the kids playing and ignoring me entirely, and the best portraits come once they've forgotten I'm there.
• Expect a meltdown and don't fear it. Nearly every session with young kids has one wobbly stretch. I simply keep things light, we pause, we let it pass — and we always get the images. A few tears never ruined a session; I promise.
• Bring a comfort item if it helps, and an extra outfit in case of spills.

The biggest mistake I see parents make is bribing and pleading for a perfect smile. Please don't. The pressure makes children clam up. Let them be themselves and trust me to catch the real magic — that's the whole point.

Common worries, answered

"What if it's windy?" The desert breeze is usually our friend — it gives hair and fabric beautiful movement. On a genuinely gusty day, we adjust locations or angles. I'll always be watching the forecast with you.

"What if someone is sick or the weather turns?" We reschedule. Family photos should be made when everyone is well and the conditions are kind. I build flexibility into how I work for exactly this reason.

"We're not photogenic / we don't know how to pose." You don't need to. That is literally my job. Almost every family tells me this, and almost every family is delighted by their images. You bring the love; I'll handle the rest.

"How many photos do we get, and when?" We'll cover the specifics when you book, but you'll receive a thoughtfully edited gallery of the best images — color-corrected and finished by hand — not hundreds of near-duplicates to wade through. I'd rather give you a beautiful, curated set you'll actually use.

"Can we include the dog / the grandparents / the cousins?" Yes, yes, and yes. Some of my favorite sessions are big multi-generational gatherings with three or four generations in one frame. Just tell me ahead of time so we plan the timing and grouping.

After the session

When we wrap, your part is done — the relaxing part begins. I take the images back to my studio and edit them carefully, by hand, to give them that honest, warm, timeless feeling I care so much about. You'll receive your gallery within the timeframe we agree on at booking.

My one piece of after-the-fact advice: print them. A gallery on your phone is lovely, but these are the photographs that belong on your wall and in your hands — the ones your children will hold one day and remember exactly who they were. If you'd like help choosing what to print and how, I'm always glad to guide you. You might also enjoy my guide to the best times of year for family photos in the Coachella Valley, which pairs naturally with everything here.

A last, reassuring word

A family session isn't a test you can pass or fail. It's an hour of being together — in your living room, or under the trees at a park down the road — while someone who loves this work pays close attention to the small, true things that make your family yours: the way your kids lean into you, the in-jokes, the hand that reaches for another hand without thinking. Those are the frames I'm watching for, and they're the ones you'll keep.

So if you've been meaning to get everyone in front of a camera before this particular chapter slips by — the gap-toothed grin, the grandparents in town, the baby who won't be a baby long — let's make it happen. Tell me a little about your family and what you're hoping to remember, and we'll shape a session around it. Send me a note here, whenever you're ready.