High Noon Family Session at Indian Camp Creek Park | Brittany Lynn Imagery, St. Charles, MO
There’s a chance that this is my favorite session to date but I’m a little biased. This is my very best friend and her beautiful family and when I say that I adore
these people, it’s a severe understatement.
We had this session in early Autumn when the leaves weren’t quite turning yet but when I spotted these red trees off the side of a parking lot, I was ecstatic! The area for this session was pretty small but we made good use of it and the kids had a great time running around the grass and playing with the pumpkins that I brought!
While I’d love to spend the majority of this post doting on this amazing family, I also want to bring attention to something else that adds an element of interest to the session: the time of day. If you have children or other people that rely on you for care, then you know first hand the difficulty of working with schedules and understanding peak times for hunger, fatigue, and the different moods that one can experience throughout the day. While every photographer dreams of shooting all of their sessions during golden hour with beautiful families and gleaming children, not all of us get to have this reality. While there are many that will only shoot at these times, I try to be mindful that those times simply don’t work for everyone and it is okay to break the rules a bit as long as expectations are properly set.
When Aubrey and I scheduled her session, I already knew good and well that the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset were both off limits because her kids, bless their hearts, are about to turn into pumpkins themselves at these times! And if I’m being honest, I’m another example of someone who can’t do a family session at these times. I can shoot them for others but the idea of trying to get my daughter to cooperate at that early of an hour or that late of an hour makes me laugh out loud… literally.
This being said, I am also the person that sees all of these stunning golden hour family photos on Instagram where the children are dressed to the nines and all of them are smiling at the same time and I have to periodically wipe the drool from my face as I sip my coffee and dream of a comparable Lightroom catalog… but at the end of the day, it’s the photos themselves that matter and the memories that we as professionals inspire for them.
When a client books with me, of course I ALWAYS suggest Golden Hour because it’s ideal and dreamy but when it doesn’t work out, I have never been one to send them looking for someone else. A good education and explanation why it is better will always help them to make an informed decision but also, at the end of the day, we do this to offer people great photos of their families. It’s more than just building our portfolio – this is their legacy! I definitely believe that helping them set realistic expectations is the best favor we can do for them and if they are informed and educated in a helpful way, then they will make the decision that is best for them and their family.
Now, when a client needs their session at high noon like Aubrey did, we can simply let them know that shadows are harsh and open shade will be our best
friend, there will be some pretty bright backgrounds if the sun decides to join us, and even offer a glance at a full gallery from another high-noon session, they can then make the informed decision on whether or not they want to proceed and can do so with realistic expectations about what the outcome of their session will look like!
And just know that if you are a Golden-Hour-only photographer, I am watching your Instagram and I am absolutely in love with your work and I am a forever fan! Golden Hour sessions really are works of art and I admire the dedication that I witness in all of the amazing local photographers that I see as well as those that I only know in the digital world. You all are a huge source of inspiration and motivation and I love seeing your work!
So if you find yourself wondering what a high noon session can look like, here are some examples. I adore these photos because they mean something to me - this is a family that I love dearly and at the end of the day, it isn't the lighting that matters most to me, it is their faces. Their love for each other. It is them.
