Why Families Book Sessions Every Two Years (Not Just When Kids Are Small)

The documentation gap most families don't realize they're creating

I've been photographing families in Chicago and Naperville for over 14 years. And I see the same pattern repeatedly.

Families book sessions when kids are babies or toddlers. Then they stop. Years pass. Suddenly those babies are in high school and there are no professional photos from the years in between.

That's a decade of their childhood undocumented.

The Stages That Get Skipped

Most families think professional photography is for specific milestones. Newborns. Maybe first birthdays. Then nothing until senior portraits.

What Regular Documentation Creates

When families book sessions every few years instead of waiting a decade, they create something valuable: a visual timeline.

Not just snapshots of isolated moments, but documentation showing how the family evolved. How kids grew. How dynamics shifted. How relationships developed.

Physical growth is obvious in photos. But regular sessions also capture personality development, changing family dynamics, and the evolution of relationships between siblings and between parents and kids.

This complete story matters more than individual perfect photos.

My Professional Recommendation

Sessions every 18-24 months for families with young children (under 10). Kids change rapidly during these years. More frequent documentation captures that evolution.

Sessions every 2-3 years for families with older kids and teens. Change is slower but still significant. Regular sessions maintain the visual timeline.

Don't stop completely. Even when kids are adults, family sessions matter. Multi-generational gatherings. Everyone home for holidays. These configurations don't last forever.

The goal isn't perfection. It's preservation.

Why Documentation Gaps Matter

Your family exists in stages. Each stage has its own dynamics, its own energy, its own version of who you all are together.

When you skip documenting stages, you lose visual proof of that evolution. You lose the ability to look back and see not just what everyone looked like, but how you functioned as a family unit during different phases.

Complete documentation creates complete stories. Gaps create chapters missing from your family's visual narrative.

It's Not Just About the Photos

Professional family photography isn't only about having images to hang on walls.

It's about creating a visual record of your family's story. Who you were. Who you became. How you evolved together.

It's about your kids seeing themselves grow up across a timeline of images. Understanding how they fit into the family narrative at different ages.

It's about remembering stages that fade from memory. The way dynamics shifted as kids grew. The relationships at different developmental stages.

Memory fades. Photos preserve.

Sessions in Chicago and Naperville

I photograph families both on location and at Studio25 Naperville.

On location means natural outdoor settings. Parks, beaches, urban environments, places meaningful to your family. Natural light and environmental context.

Studio sessions mean controlled, comfortable conditions. Professional lighting. No weather concerns. Consistent results.

Neither is better. They serve different preferences. Your choice depends on what makes your family most comfortable.

What matters isn't the location. It's the commitment to regular documentation.

When to Book Your Next Session

If your last professional family photos are more than three years old, it's time.

If your kids look significantly different than they do in your most recent photos, it's time.

If you can't remember the last time everyone was together for professional images, it's definitely time.

Your family as it exists right now won't exist this way next year. Kids age. Dynamics shift. Life changes.

This version of your family, whatever stage you're in, is worth capturing.

I'd love to photograph your family. On location at places you love, or at Studio25 Naperville. Let's start your family's visual timeline, or continue documenting the story already begun.

Contact Emily Cummings Photography to schedule your session in Naperville or Chicago.