Somewhere between booking a session and actually showing up for it, almost every client asks me a version of the same question: “So… how many photos do I actually get?”
It’s a fair question. And honestly, it’s the wrong question to start with.
The right first question is: what are these photos actually for? Because once you know that, the number sorts itself out.
Start With the “Why,” Not the “How Many”
A solo headshot session and a three-generation family session are not the same job, even though they both end with you holding (or downloading) some photos. One is about capturing one very good, very you image. The other is about capturing a group of relationships, personalities, and combinations that only exist together for a limited window of time.
So before you worry about quantity, ask yourself:
- Is this about one specific photo, or a whole story? A LinkedIn headshot or a Christmas card photo has a job to do — one job. You need one shot that nails it, not twenty options that all do the same thing slightly differently.
- Who needs to be in the frame, and in what combinations? Whole family together, each kid solo, you and your partner, grandkids with grandparents — every combination you care about is a separate “moment” that needs its own space in the session, and therefore its own place in your final gallery.
- What will you actually do with them? Photos that live only on your phone need less than photos that are going in a printed album, framed on a wall, or turned into holiday cards for twenty relatives. Figure out the destination before you worry about the volume.
For Family Sessions: It’s About Coverage, Not Just Count
Family sessions are where this question gets the most complicated, because there are usually multiple answers layered on top of each other. A few things I always encourage families to think through:
How many combinations do you actually want? You don’t need every single permutation of who’s-standing-next-to-whom, but you probably want more than “one big group shot.” Think: the whole family together, each parent one-on-one with each kid, siblings together without the adults, maybe grandparents with grandkids. Once you map those out, you can already see your number starting to take shape.
Do you want the fun stuff too — or just the “everyone look at the camera” shots? Here’s my honest take: the posed, everyone-smiling-at-the-camera photo is important, and you’ll probably want one or two of those for the card or the wall. But the photos people actually love years later are almost always the in-between ones — the piggyback ride, the little one refusing to sit still, the laugh that happened because someone tripped over a shoe. Those aren’t a bonus round. They’re often the best part of the gallery, and I always make sure there’s room for them in every session.
How often do you normally do this? If professional family photos happen every year for you, one session doesn’t have to capture everything — next year will fill in gaps. But if this is a once-every-five-years kind of thing (no judgment, life is busy), that changes what you need. You’re not just documenting this moment, you’re covering a longer stretch of time until the next one comes around, which usually means more combinations and more variety.
This one matters more than people expect: is everyone who should be there going to be around for the next one? This isn’t something anyone loves thinking about, but it’s real — grandparents, aging parents, or a family member managing a health issue. If there’s someone in your life whose presence in this session isn’t guaranteed forever, that’s worth naming out loud before the day, not realizing it after. It might mean prioritizing a few extra combinations with that person specifically, or simply making sure we don’t rush that part of the session. I’d always rather know ahead of time than wish we’d slowed down.
What’s the actual destination for these photos? A few framed prints for the hallway is a very different need than a full photo book, and both are different from “mostly just for Instagram and the family group chat.” None of these are wrong — they just point to different numbers. If you’re not sure yet, that’s okay too. It’s still useful to think about roughly how these photos are going to live in your home or your year.
For Headshot Sessions: Less Is Often More
Headshots flip the whole equation. This isn’t about coverage — it’s about precision. You’re usually not trying to capture a range of moments; you’re trying to land on the one image that represents you well across LinkedIn, a website bio, a company directory, or a stage program.
That means the real value of a headshot session isn’t in how many shots you leave with — it’s in having enough variety during the session (different expressions, a couple of outfit or background changes, a few angles) that we can actually find the one that feels like you. Quality of options beats quantity of finals, every time.
The Short Version
If you remember nothing else from this post, remember this: the right number of photos isn’t a fixed number — it’s whatever fully covers what this session is actually for. Who needs to be in it, how it’ll be used, how often you do this, and who you don’t want to miss capturing are all part of that math.
I think through all of this with you before we ever pick up a camera, which is part of why I’ve moved toward session options built around exactly this kind of coverage — rather than a flat “here’s an hour, good luck.” More on that soon. In the meantime, if you’re planning a session and aren’t sure what you actually need, that’s a great thing to bring up when we chat.
Eran Sudds is a Tsawwassen photographer who specializes in fun & natural sessions for you and your entire family. She is available for maternity, newborn, family portraits and headshots at locations in South Delta, or anywhere in the Lower Mainland. Contact her to book your session!
