There are so many wonderful spots to do family portraits in Edmonton.  My favorite location is Emily Murphy Park.  I have been doing family portraits there for years now and I still love it as a location for outdoor photos. 

June to September is high season for family photos so I thought I would provide a few tips on how to prepare for your family portrait session:

 Arrive early:

• I usually suggest clients arrive 15 minutes early for a few reasons.  Summer is a busy time of year so it can be hard to find parking at local parks.  
•  Also, it is very hard for the children to be taken out of the car, see this beautiful wide open space and be ready to have their portraits done. 
• If you arrive early, it will give them to have some time to get adjusted to the new surroundings and maybe have a bit of a snack/drink before the session starts. 

 What to wear:

•  Darker colors tend to look best.  Also, the majority of outdoor portraits will involve you and your family sitting on steps, on the ground, on the grass, in trees, etc so you will get slightly dirty.
•  Jeans and t shirts is always a nice look.  Dark Colors (red, blue, brown, dark green, etc) work best.  – Everyone should be in the same tone if possible.
•  Clothing plays a huge part of whether a portrait looks nice or not.  It may be hot outside but you don’t want to wear summer wear.  Shorts, tank tops, etc are too casual for family portraits.  Most photographers have a certain style/look that they are trying to capture.  Clients who dress too casual may be asked to reschedule their photo session.
• Dresses for little girls (under the age of 3 years old) doesn’t usually work.  They will be sitting on the grass, on steps, in trees, etc. and my experience is that they do not like their bare skin touching the rough surfaces.  If you have your heart set on a little dress, bring back up clothing just in case.

Another thing to remember, do not bring food with you during the actual session.  If you think your child is going to get hungry feed them prior to the session.  You don’t want to be spending your photo session time, watching your child have a snack

 And finally, your photographer may have more than 1 photo session that day.  Usually, they will allot a specific amount of time for each session, so its important that you are ready to do your portraits at the time that was scheduled.