Family Photography in Great Bend, Kansas | Why I Love Signature Sessions

family, family photography, on location

September 7, 2026

Why I Love a Full Family Session

There is something I love about photographing a family when we have nowhere else we need to be.

No rushing through a list of combinations.

No watching the clock.

No feeling like we have to get the family photo and then call it good.

Just time.

Time to walk.
Time to play.
Time to cuddle.
Time to change outfits.
Time to explore a new little corner of the location.
Time to photograph the people you love in all of the different ways you love them.

That is why, after years of photographing families, the Signature Session is still my favorite way to photograph a family.

It’s not just more photographs. It’s more of your story.

A family is never just one grouping.

There is the photograph of everyone together.

Then there are the siblings.

Mom with the baby.

Dad with the baby.

The two of you.

The oldest child by herself.

The little one who doesn’t want to sit still.

The way your daughter reaches for your hand.

The way your husband looks at the baby when he thinks no one is watching.

Those are the photographs that become more meaningful with time.

And having a full hour gives us the space to photograph all of it.

We don’t have to choose just one version of your family.

One of my favorite things about a Signature Session is that we can let the session unfold.

We might begin with everyone together.

Then we’ll walk to another part of the location.

Maybe the kids need to run for a minute.

Maybe we stop for a few portraits of the girls together.

Maybe Mom and Dad get a few minutes alone.

Maybe we change outfits halfway through.

And somewhere in between all of those things, the photographs I didn’t plan for happen.

Those little moments are often my favorites.

An hour gives us room for the unexpected.

So, what’s the difference between a Signature Session and a Petite Session?

I offer both because sometimes less really is more.

A Petite Session is approximately 20–30 minutes and is wonderful when you want something simple and focused. It’s a great option for a family who wants updated portraits without committing to a longer experience.

But a Petite Session asks us to be intentional about what we photograph.

A Signature Session gives us space.

Petite Session	Signature Session
20–30 minutes	Approximately 1 hour
One focused setting	Flexibility to move through multiple settings
A smaller number of family groupings	Full variety of family groupings
Great for a quick update	Designed to tell the fuller story
Simple & focused	Relaxed & unhurried
One outfit works beautifully	Time for an outfit change

Neither is better—they simply serve different purposes.

But if you are asking me what I would choose for my own family?

I’d choose the Signature Session every time.

Because I don’t just want the photograph of everyone smiling at the camera.

I want the photograph of my boys together.

I want the photograph of each of them with me.

I want one of them with their dad.

I want the two of us.

I want the silly one.

The quiet one.

The photograph that makes me laugh.

And the photograph that makes me a little emotional ten years from now.

That’s what an hour makes possible.

For years, family photography has often followed a pretty predictable formula:

Book a session → take photographs → receive a gallery → download the files.

But I’ve never really believed that photographs were meant to live exclusively on a screen.

The photographs we love most deserve to become part of our homes.

So I’ve shifted my family photography experience to an artwork-first model.

Your session is still about creating beautiful photographs, but the experience doesn’t end when I send your gallery.

Instead, we’ll come back together for your private ordering and design appointment, where I’ll help you decide how your favorite photographs should live in your home.

We’ll look at your images together.

We’ll talk about the spaces you want to fill.

We’ll consider the size, orientation and grouping that will work best.

And I’ll help you design artwork that feels intentional—not like you simply ordered a bunch of prints because you weren’t sure what else to do with them.

You don’t have to figure out:

Which images should I print?
What size should I order?
Should these be framed?
Should I do three photographs or one?
What will actually look good over my sofa?
How do I make a gallery wall?
What happens if I want something larger?

You don’t have to know. That’s my job.

I want the process to feel just as considered as the photography itself.

Because the goal isn’t to give you a gallery full of photographs and hope you eventually do something with them.

The goal is to help you turn those photographs into artwork you’ll actually live with.

Photographs for your home. Memories for your family.

There is something different about seeing your children photographed beautifully and then seeing those photographs every morning when you walk downstairs.

You notice them.

You remember how little they were.

You remember the way they used to reach for you.

You remember the season of life you were in.

And eventually, your children see them too.

That’s the part of photography that has always mattered most to me.

Not just creating photographs of your family—but creating something that becomes part of your family’s history.

That is why I love the Signature Session.

It gives us the time to slow down and tell the whole story.

And that is why I’ve moved toward an artwork-first experience.

Because these photographs were never meant to disappear into your camera roll.

They were meant to be lived with.