If you’re planning a Nantucket vacation with your family, adding a photo session to the itinerary is one of my favorite ways to document your time on the island. Not to mention all the changes in your kiddos from year to year. But before you pick a date and start planning outfits, there are a few things worth considering. If you want to know how to plan family photos around your Nantucket vacation, this post is for you. 

Rather than trying to squeeze your session into your trip, there is a little logistical planning to be aware of that will make you feel like a pro. As a Nantucket family photographer, my goal is to help you have an experience that feels easy and relaxed for everyone.

Here are my top tips for how to plan family photos around your vacation! 

Give Yourself Time to Settle In

I don’t recommend scheduling your family photos on the day you arrive. Between catching the ferry or flight, checking into your rental, unpacking, and getting everyone settled, travel days can be a lot. Especially for kids. 

Instead, I typically recommend planning your session for your second through fourth day on Nantucket. This gives your family time to settle in, explore a little, (maybe get some ice cream! I love The Juice Bar!) and get into true vacation mode before stepping in front of the camera. 

It also means you aren’t spending your first night on the island worrying about whether everyone will be rested and ready for photos.

Plan Around Golden Hour

Most of my Nantucket family sessions take place around golden hour, which is roughly an hour before sunset. In the summer, that can mean meeting around 7pm or so, since the sun doesn’t set until close to 8pm. This is important to be plan for with kids, because it can conflict with bedtime. I think it’s worth staying up late for, but I also can work around their schedules if we want to meet up earlier! We talk about all these logistics when you book with me. 

When planning your day, I recommend keeping your evening fairly open and building dinner plans around your session. We have so many great restaurants on the Island. Making the evening a fun outing for photos & dinner, is always a combo I recommend to my families!

 If you want to know more about the timing on the day-of your session, here’s a blog post I wrote going over a few options!

Another tip for how to plan family photos around your vacation? 

Let the Weather Work in Your Favor

The other thing we look at is the weather. If it’s going to be rainy or overcast the time you’re in Nantucket, we have a lot more flexibility on when we can shoot. This is a session that was shot around 3pm, which is usually very bright with harsh shadows. But this session had nice even lighting because of the cloud coverage. 

We occasionally have Summer rains as well, and this would mean needing to reschedule your session. So I’m always thinking about that when suggesting dates to my families who travel to the island.

Leave Room for the Unexpected

Lastly, don’t schedule your session too close to the end of your vacation. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, or maybe a kiddo is feeling under the weather… having a day or two of wiggle room gives us a much better chance of finding another beautiful evening for your photos.

So to recap, a few things I recommend when wondering how to plan family photos around your vacation: 

• Keep one or two days flexible during your trip
• Avoid scheduling your session on your arrival day
• Leave some wiggle room before you head home
• Plan your dinner reservations around your photo time

Your Nantucket vacation should feel like a true vacation. Your family photos should be an extension of that experience, not another thing you have to rush through. 

When my families hire me, they can trust that as someone who was born & raised on Nantucket, that I am going to walk you through every step of the way. I want you to feel confident and excited about your photos. Not only are we documenting this phase of life for your family, you’re hopefully creating some core family memories in the process. 

With a little planning, you can plan family photos around your vacation and leave the island with photographs that feel just as relaxed, joyful, and beautiful as the memories themselves.