WELCOME

I am so excited you are here! My name is Taylor Lorenz and I run Taylor Olivia Photography. I started my career in photography by helping out a local wedding photographer 6 years ago. This sparked such a passion in me that I decided to apply to NAIT’s Photographic Technology Program. I was accepted and I learned a ton while in school. I graduated in 2015 and have been photographing life events and weddings since.

My goal as a photographer is to document sessions like they are stories. I try my best to create connections with my clients so I can portray them in a genuine manner. My hope is that my clients will be able to look back at their photos years later and see their children’s personalities and connections just as they were at that stage of life.

I can’t wait to photograph your family! Please read through this guide for all the information you’ll need! If you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to send me an email at: hello@tayloroliviaphotography.com

MY APPROACH

I always love to start things off with: I’m not your average, classic family photographer. Gone are the days of looking at the camera and smiling. I love to document families in a way that directly reflects true and honest connections and personalities. I do have a process that I use to emulate a more natural approach with my family sessions. This involves me prompting my clients to do certain activities and games that will ultimately create reactions and laughter to get a much more relaxed look! This works especially well with children. Giving children a task or game ultimately allows them to feel more comfortable and connected to both their siblings and their parents. I love to showcase their little personalities, rather than just have them stand and smile at the camera. This allows me to catch really beautiful, sweet connections between siblings and parents. That being said, of course we will do some posed photos of you all looking at the camera and smiling. I do see value in the classic family photo, but I do think being able to look back and see your children’s personalities for exactly what they were is so special!

I do like to take a bit of time at the beginning of our session to talk to the entire family, including children, to get a sense of personalities and comfortability. I believe this is a really useful tool that allows me ensure children are comfortable around me (truly, it is weird to have a stranger pointing a camera in their face.. the more they understand what I’m doing, the more comfortable they’ll feel), it ensures parents and myself are on the same page, and it ensures all members of the family understand what the session will look like. Not everyone loves getting their picture taken, and that’s okay! This whole process of me assessing comfortability and forming a bit of a relationship allows me to break down the barrier of nervousness. Patience is key! Family sessions can be overwhelming for kids. It’s a new event that many children have not been exposed to, which often will lead to a bit of apprehension. We can use connection and games to our advantage to make something that might be unnerving feel really fun and exciting! Crying is okay. It happens at almost every session. These moments of comfort between littles and parents create some of the sweetest pictures. Let the kids be kids, you’ll be amazed by what we can create!

LOCATION, TIMING, AND OUTFITS

A lot of people ask me about what they should wear to their sessions. We’ll be moving around and playing and snuggling, so wearing something comfortable helps optimize the success of the session! Avoid having everyone wear dark coloured shirts. Dark colours tend to meld together in photos and will have little definition between each article of clothing. Bright, loud patterns and logos can often be distracting in photos. Keeping things simple lets the subjects and connections shine! Lastly, be mindful that we will be walking, we’ll be playing, and we’ll be usually in grassy areas. Having comfortable footwear is key to ensuring you’ll stay warm, dry, and can move easily.

Pinterest is a really great resource if you’re looking for colour combinations that work well together. Searching things like “family photo outfit inspiration” or “family outfit colour combinations” are great places to start when searching. I can always offer suggestions if you are struggling with this!

I can work with any time of day when it comes to photographs. It’s never a bad idea to plan your session around your child’s napping/eating schedule! Often, these sessions take a lot out of kids so having them fed and well-rested makes a huge difference. Photographing about an hour before the sun goes down does yield to a really dreamy type of lighting, but is definitely not mandatory. I’ve photographed sessions at almost any time of the day. We can use location to our advantage to conquer any kind of lighting scenario. Please feel free to inquire if you’re looking for a certain look in your photos! Shockingly enough, time of day does impact the look of the pictures due to positioning of the sun. Ensuring we’re photographing in the proper direction and utilizing shady areas, we can achieve the perfect look! Don’t let this stress you out, though. By giving me the time of day that works best, I can easily find a location that will work perfectly for us!

Finally, location! I always give my clients the option to suggest a location or let me give them a few options. Since the positioning of the sun is so important, I do encourage my clients to send me the location of their choosing beforehand so I can ensure it will work for us. I love photographing families in places that are special to them. Many will choose to have their session on their land, at the lake, etc. Places that have meaning to them. to have their session at the lake, their family farm, or somewhere they have a memory together. This isn’t the case for everyone, though! Other families simply desire a certain look (open field, rolling hills, shade, etc.). I’m more than happy to offer up suggestions based on what you’re looking for! It’s also really great to choose a location with a few options. By choosing a location with a treed area, but also a more open area, you automatically will add more variety to your final gallery. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re feeling overwhelmed with choosing a location! This is something that shouldn’t bring stress. I’m more than happy to assist you in finding the perfect spot!

after the session

We’ve finished photographing your session, now what!? It takes me an average of two weeks to finish editing your session. I deliver all my session on an online gallery platform. It is incredibly easy to use, allows you to easily share your images with family and friends, and also has a built in print store! You are able to download your images onto any device. You gallery will contain approximately 50 high resolution, fully edited images from your hour long session. (Curious about what an entire session looks like!? The slideshow below is an entire gallery of images I delivered this client for a 1 hour family session.) You will have two downloading options: high resolution and web sized. Please make sure to use the high resolution sized images for any printing! They are larger in size and will yield a higher quality product. Web sized is better suited for any social media usage or blog usage.

You do have printing rights to your session. This means you can choose to either print through myself or print at your own desired lab. Please be mindful that places like Walmart, Staples, ect. may not yield quality prints. I always welcome clients to print through myself. I have tons of really beautiful product to choose from, at varying price levels to suit any budget. You will also be guaranteed the highest quality products. Some labs do require a print release form, stating that you do have printing rights to your photos. If your printing facility requires this, send me a quick email. I can write you up a quick print release! As always, if you’re struggling with printing or need any help, I’m always happy to help.

AND of course! If you are happy with my services, it always means to the world to me to receive reviews from my clients! Short testimonials help other new clients affirm their decision to book me as their photographer. You can do so by sending me a quick email or message on social media with 2-3 sentences about your session experience with me!