*above pp forgot to say, we do 1x per year

It’s a huge expense and not something I spend lightly - $400 on a one hour photo session is more than my mom spent on groceries for a family of 6 for an entire month when I was growing up! But I really really value the photos. In particular, I value being able to be in them myself. I’m the photographer in my family 364 days a year (like many moms) and even when my husband tried to take photos in return, they aren’t great, haha. So for me, it’s worth it. I also like supporting our wonderful photographer as a small business owner.

I would rather see an informal real shot then a posed thing with a backdrop.

On good years, twice yearly. A friend is a photographer. On not so good years, none.

We've done them twice in 10 years. Once when DD was around 6 months old and once when we were at the beach when DD was around 7.

Never. Someone made a nasty comment about me and my son not being a "real" family and I should've ignored it. I just make sure we have someone take a few decent photos of us every year.

We never have either. My cousin who has a nice camera did newborn photos for us, and those were nice enough. And we had a pro for our wedding. That was it.

This is by far my most expensive frivolous luxury but I do it annually. I buy my kids’ school photos too, even the horrible ones, bc that is so fun!

I pay $300 a year. I treasure my pictures though, it’s worth it to me.

Pretty much never. We did for the first time ever this year- kids are 19 and 15. And that was only because DH won the session at a work raffle! I prefer our own pictures; I don't need to pay someone to get pics and see how my kids are changing year to year.

We’ve been using Shoott! recently and like how it works. We decided to start doing 2x/yr to capture how the kids change and also give different scenery.

Never, unless you count my wedding, where my husband's cousin, and amateur photographer, took the pictures - since we knew her, it didn't feel intrusive or forced. The results were beautiful. I would never pay a stranger to take pictures, unless I were running for office or something.

Usually 1 that we use for our Xmas card. It may be a photo shoot when we are on vacation or a fall/Xmas shoot at home.

I have never had professional photos down if my family, but I had some done when I was younger (never paid). I feel it’s a waste of money. What is the price range in DC?

Twice yearly. And yep we don’t buy the school ones because they’re cheap looking and atrocious. I have small kids and like how they change.

Side note- my older two were terrible at my newborn photo shoot this year. So bad that I don’t think I’ll ever do indoor photos again. Outdoor is best with us moving and laughing. Dh doesn’t whine but I know it’s not his favorite. But as long as he doesn’t have to do anything other than wear what I lay out and keep the kids happy- he’s okay. He’d never book them or pick out outfits.

You can always do minis if it’s too expensive for a big photoshoot.

We get them every year and my husband wondered if this is excessive. I said I like seeing how the kids change from year to year. Little things like hair styles, teeth, height, etc.

It’s pretty normal to get them done every year, no? Fwiw, I hate the photos that their school takes. I’d rather pay someone more and get some nice posed and candid shots. The person we use does a great job getting the kids to play or interact with each other while she shoots.