Howard County Photographer, Rebecca Leigh Photography, creates family films to accompany your family photos. Of course you can select to a photo only session, but this extra special offering might become one of your favorite memories as your children grow! If you’re looking for a new experience this year, maybe adding a family film to your photo session is just the thing!

Howard County Family Photographer | The Family Photo & Video Collection

Old Photos

One of the reasons why photos become more valuable with time is because they hold a visual memory for us forever. As a Howard County photographer, I know the importance of family photos and how they make parents feel. True story: recently I was at a friend’s party and was so happy to catch up with a bunch of other moms from neighborhood and our kids’ school. A few of whose families I was honored to have photographed over the years when their kids were younger.

And one of my friends showed me that she still had a photo I took of her girls, set as her background on her phone. The photo was from over 6 years ago, and yet she said she loved it so much, she kept it there, rather than adding a more recent photo. It made my day, and also reminded me of that photo session and how cute the girls were giggling in the photo. I remember that I loved that photo session too!

I know how she feels because two of my phone backgrounds are of my children when they were toddlers and I just like reliving those memories.

New Photos

Even though we love our photos from years ago, as parents we still know it is important take new ones, knowing that today’s photos will someday become just as special as the ones from years ago. Even if you don’t get professional photos taken every year, every few years is great too, to freeze another milestone.

Many families have professional photos taken each year, but it is less common for them to have a video alongside their photo session. That’s why I believe family films will be a special edition to your own family memories.

The Value of Family Videos

Something that I’m sure we all do is take videos of our children with our cell phones. If you’re like me, you probably know there are way too many videos and cell phone pictures to ever do anything with all of them.

I had a small video camera to make videos of my children’s early years and I put together DVD’s. As the years have passed, I’ve taken an interest in filming with my Canon R6 mark II camera and creating high quality family films using Adobe Premiere Pro. Instead of hours of video, I focus on short clips of moments from a photo session and weave them together to make an artistic film. I use my favorite camera, the Canon 5D mark iv, for photos during the session in Howard County or surrounding areas.

And just like those cute photo memories, these videos show the action and give us another glimpse into a special time we always want to remember. Last spring, as I was thinking about offering video for client sessions, I asked one of my favorite families if I could make a video during their family photo session.

When I sent the finished video, this was her response: “IT’S AMAZING! You need to add this as an option for your family sessions because I think other families would want to capture these video moments too! It’s so different from still photos- it really shows the high energy of the girls and their silliness! I love the ending- that was so perfect, where they are running toward each other and then slowly walking away. You are a true artist. Thank you again for the many years of working together.”

Her enthusiastic response inspired me to add this unique offering to my family photo sessions. I was super excited that the video was so well received.

The Family Photo and Video Collection

The family photo and video collection will result in all of the beautiful photos from your session and a short artistic film set to music that accompanies the mood. I just love this extra layer of creativity to really capture your family memories. And since we want the film to be easily accessible, the family photo and video collection includes a beautiful linen video album. Just like a photo album, you can open the video album and the film will begin to play. The film is also sent to you for download, so you can share it with family and friends.

One of the things I love the most about family films, is that seeing your children in motion is another way to see their personalities. We love photography for freezing a moment in time. And video shows a few moments of action and energy. The short clips of video edited together make the family film enjoyable to watch in anticipation of what will happen next.

This spring, summer, and fall, let’s create these special memories for you to enjoy now and forever with Howard County photographer, Rebecca Leigh Photography. For more information, contact Rebecca Leigh Photography. Select the Family Photo & Video Collection in the drop down menu on my contact form.

FAQ’s

What if we feel awkward in front of the camera or our kids don’t sit still?

Don’t worry about how to act! For your family photo session, I will guide you with prompts for interacting with each other. You will be yourselves with your children, either playing games, or singing songs, or simply having little conversations. You can say silly things and make your kids laugh. When I edit the video, I remove the audio, so there is no pressure to say the right thing. Your emotions will be what we see on the video. So you can relax and not have to think about sounding a certain way. Just be with your family and have fun! I select music that pairs well with the mood, which will give your film a polished look.

While we do take some photos and video of you looking at the camera, most of the session I will guide you to look at your family or focus on something else. It will give your photos and film a more natural look. The Family Photo & Video Collection includes all of the 50+ images in your gallery for download.

If your children, don’t sit still, great! This will make your photo session more dynamic, especially for the video. Let them run around and play! That will make your family film even better.

What kinds of things can we do during an outdoor photo and video session?

We often photograph at locations in nature, so with little kids, this a perfect time for exploring. In the spring we get to walk around and look at the flowers. You can talk to your children about the plants. You can point out the birds or you can sing your favorite song with your child. If you want to personalize your session, you can bring special items from home, such as a favorite stuffed animal or a bedtime story book. Whatever feels like your family, is perfect!

If we are filming in a location with nature, we can plan to bring a magnifying glass or something pertaining to exploring plants, flowers, and insects. This may entertain your children.

How long is the family film?

The family film will be approximately 2+ minutes. It could be longer, depending on how much footage we capture during the session, but I find that this shorter film length is perfect for keeping attention spans. Most people will appreciate a short film, as it will be the most impactful.

We will spend an hour together, so that gives us plenty of time to take photos and video throughout the session.

What is the best season for filming?

The Family Photo & Video Collection is offered three seasons of the year, spring, summer, and fall. This is when the weather is the most comfortable and it makes for happier children.

How do we view the film?

Your family film will be presented to you in a beautiful linen video album. Just as you would open the cover of a photo album, the video album is similar, and begins to play as the cover opens. You will also receive your family film for download so that you can share it wherever you like.

Everyone loves to have a digital copy of photos and videos, of course. But the accessibility of being able to pick up a video album that you keep on your coffee table is pretty enticing, in my opinion. Your children will love to look at their family film as much as they’d like.

Rebecca Leigh Photography is a newborn, baby, and family photographer located in Ellicott City, Maryland. Rebecca is also an artist providing art education content and artwork at Rebecca Leigh Studio.