I was folding my 37th pair of pants in the never-ending pile of laundry, listening to episode 341 of the Lazy Genius podcast, entitled “Why It’s Hard to Get Things Done,” when I stopped in my tracks. Kendra Adachi (aka The Lazy Genius) said something remarkable, which I’m going to paraphrase instead of trying to find the exact wording:

The reason why you can’t get some things done is because you consider them a task, when they’re actually a project.

Projects take multiple steps to accomplish, usually over a period of time. There might be waiting periods included, and other people you have to include in order to complete it. It’s not as simple as “emptying the dishwasher,” which is so easy it was the chore I had to do as a tween.

Family photos is not a task. It’s a project. And I think the reason why you can’t seem to get family photos done, even when you want them, is because you’re considering them to be a task, instead of a project.

Or, if you’re correctly considering family photos to be a project, you’re not sure of all the steps. And that paralyzes you.

So today we’re going to line up all the steps of family photography - specifically family photography with Allison Patel Photography, so you can see them. And then we’re going to make it easier for you to knock them down like dominos.

Making a list of all the parts of your project is the first step of any good project. Just like reading the directions all the way through before you start the project is good practice. I literally had a teacher in seventh grade who handed out a test and said “definitely read the instructions first” and I definitely didn’t, and then watched as people went and threw away their tests and couldn’t figure out what was going on. Anyway. The list.

1: Broad research.

I’ve talked about this before, so I won’t belabor the point. You can go here to read more on how to research photographers, and the steps involved in that.

2: Narrow down your choices to 2-3 photographers.

Kind of self-explanatory. Make sure you check out their personalities and artistic style, and not just their price.

3: Contact your choices.

You will have to do this, instead of willing those photographers to telepathically know that you want photos. The contact form is your friend.

4: Validate your choices with your partner (as needed).

You may or may not need to do this. Some partners work together to plan their photos, other families are more content to have one person plan everything. However this fits into your family dynamic, if one (adult) person isn’t on board, it’s going to be much harder to get the project done. It’s good to take everyone into consideration.

5: Schedule your session

Before you nail down a session date and time, you’ll need to check everyone on your end. Check school and extracirricular schedules, family calendars, work schedules, and again, with that partner, to make sure the date and time work for everyone. If you’re taking time off work for a morning session, make sure you can do that before promising a date and time to the photographer.

6: Location

If the location is a given, like for a home session, this is easy. If you’re doing a session away from home, are you in charge of picking a spot, or is the photographer choosing for you? Either way, you need to know where you’re going.

7: Outfits

Again, this is easier if you’re at home, because you don’t have to worry about weather, or even time of year, really. You could coordinate with each other, or just tell everyone to wear their favorite outfit and see what happens. How adventurous are you feeling?

If you’re away from home, don’t forget backup outfits for small kids who might have diaper or potty training accidents.

8: Mental Prep

Prepping the kids for a photo session, prepping yourself for a photo session, thinking through the day and what you might need.

9: Physical prep

If you’re doing a home session, what do you need to do to prep your space for someone coming to take photos? The house won’t be the focus (pun not intended) but it will be in the background. What do you need to hide? Piles of bills and laundry?

If you’re away from home, make sure shoes fit and are comfortable, make sure you have weather-appropriate gear (hats/scarves for winter, water bottles for summer) or you’re keeping an eye on the weather in case you need to postpone. Also, snacks! And don’t forget extra diapers and those spare outfits.

This will all be in your photo prep guide, if we’re working together.

10: Photo Day!

This is the fun/scary/anxiety part! Meet your photographer a few minutes before the session (or wait for her to arrive a few minutes before the session) and then have fun.

11: What happens next?

This is the question you should ask your photographer at the end of your session, if she forgets to offer it without you asking. What kind of timeline are you looking at for your photos? How will they be delivered? What happens after that? Do you have a deadline?

12: Printing photos once they’re delivered

You didn’t hire a photographer for hundreds of dollars just so the photos could sit on your computer. What will you do with them? Album? Wall gallery? Prints? Decide for yourself, utilize your photographer as needed, and get them printed so your investment is worth all the work you did on steps one through ten.

Want this list in a handy pdf checklist, with links, tips, and resources included? Yeah you do. Here you go!

Looking for newborn photography and need your own checklist? I have one for you, too!

I hope this helps you turn your undone project (masquerading as a task) into a completed project that you’re proud of!