ByLucy Baber
October 1, 2013
4
Families / Maternity / Newborn / News / Portraits
Congratulations to my dear friend Allie, who gave birth to her second child (Baby Jonah) yesterday morning! Isn’t she absolutely stunning?
Congratulations to my dear friend Allie, who gave birth to her second child (Baby Jonah) yesterday morning! Isn’t she absolutely stunning?
Here are three simple tips in what I personally look for when choosing a photographer for our OWN family photos each year (yes, even photographers need to hire other photographers sometimes!). When looking at a photographer’s website, please check out these three things to help ensure that your photo session will turn out as fabulous as you deserve!
1. Check the skin tones
No one wants to pay hundreds of dollars for their child to look like an alien (unless, you know, you DO actually want that!). A skilled photographer will pay attention to things like the time of day (did you know that the light actually gives off different color casts depending on the time of day?), color casts from clothes and surroundings (lots of green leaves and grass can often lead to green skin tones), and their own camera settings to ensure that your skin actually looks true to life in your finished photos. Which photo would you rather put on your holiday card this year (see below)?
2. Is DAD having any fun?
All too often it’s the DADS (not the kids) who are the most resistant to having their photos taken. When looking at a photographer’s work, pay close attention to the dads in the photos. Are they smiling genuine smiles, or do they look stiff and mildly annoyed? There’s nothing worse than carefully planning adorable outfits, getting (and keeping) the kids cleaned up, and then getting your photos back of a grumpy, uncomfortable dad. (Even worse, I recently saw some family photos where dad was on his PHONE the entire time, he was so bored!) I’m telling you, a happy dad equals a happy family photo session, which will lead to wonderfully natural smiles and laughs in every photo.
3. Read reviews from former clients
A great photographer has clients who like to brag about them. Many (myself included) will even share client feedback directly on their site so you can learn more about the experience before you book your session. Do the reviews make the photographer sound fun, confident, relaxed, and professional? Here are a few snippets from my own awesome clients, shared here.
“you were able to capture what I love most about each of my children (and my husband and I too!)”
“the most stress-free family photo experience yet!”
“all we had were smiles and laughter”
“My kids have asked when they will see Miss Lucy again so they can get their pictures taken. I can’t wait either!”
Time to start thinking about back-to-school shopping, cooler weather, and booking your Fall Mini Session! Mini sessions are a great chance to update your annual family photos for holiday cards, gifts, and home decor…all for a fraction of the cost of a full one-hour session. This fall, I am offering a limited number of mini sessions on three dates. These will be my last mini sessions offered in 2013, so act fast before they fill up! Please see all the details below:
Mini sessions are offered on a first come, first served basis. Contact [email protected] to book your fall mini session today!
I always love the opportunity to meet up with old friends from high school and catch a glimpse into their world as a “grown up”. 🙂 Thank you, Jackie, for allowing me to meet and photograph your lovely home and family!
It’s the Photography Because mystery blog circle time! Can you guess this month’s theme? Keep clicking through the other talented ladies’ blog posts and then come back to leave a comment with your answer! Next in line is Jayne’s blog.
Dear Theo,
Today is your third birthday. What a big boy you are! We are so proud of what a bright, funny, talented boy you have become! To celebrate your birthday, we went to Dutch Wonderland over the weekend, and we will be making a special dinner of homemade pizza and birthday cake for just the three of us tonight. I love that you honestly believe we took a trip into outer space on the rocketship ride at Dutch Wonderland. Your sense of imagination and willingness to embrace your inner storyteller makes me the proudest mommy I could possibly be!
This year is going to bring along a lot of changes and growth for you and for our family. Pretty soon, you will be potty trained (fingers crossed!), going to preschool, and by the end of 2013 you will become a Big Brother! I have no doubts that you will excel at every single one of these new roles. I love that you are already such a nurturing soul, always cuddling and caring for your stuffed animal “babies”. Your new little sibling is going to be one lucky baby to have such a loving, protective big brother as you!
This month, I wanted to make sure I captured all of the wonderful things that make you so special, so I decided to “interview” you at lunch the other day to ask about all of your favorite things at age 3. Of course, I know that most of these answers would be different if I had asked at dinnertime (when we ate green beans instead of cucumbers), or if I had asked you these questions a few weeks ago when your favorite Superhero was Iron Man…but I’m happy to have recorded a small snapshot of your life even if it only records just a few fleeting moments in that ever-expanding and creative mind of yours.
Love you so much,
Mommy
Each month I participate in a blog circle with a group of other very talented photographers and mothers. Please keep clicking through the circle by visiting the blog of Oklahoma City Newborn Photographer, Tavia Redburn Photography.
Dear Theo,
Another month has passed and no matter how hard I try to make the time slow down, it just won’t! Your body and mind (and hair!) just keep on growing and I am amazed every single day at what a bright, fun, and happy little boy you are becoming.
You’ve become much more of a homebody this past month, as we’re no longer bound to any particular schedules to get us out of the house during the work week. It’s just the two of us and our daily whims that keep us going while daddy is at work, and you seem absolutely content to stay inside and play with your toys all day long (no matter how much I try to coax you to help me run errands or even go to the playground!). You LOVE your superheroes, cars, and toy animals, and when you’re not crashing your monster trucks into elaborately constructed block towers, then you are undoubtedly assigning me to help you on a Secret Mission to rescue a trapped baby animal under a pile of pillows. You’ve gotten really good at puzzles lately too, and no matter how full our bookshelves become, you still love diving into all the new books at the library.
This evening after a walk with your daddy, you came home and told me that you brought home a new friend, an imaginary puma that you named Penguin. Your imagination continues to astound me, and I love hearing all of the intricate stories you concoct! I can’t believe that you will be THREE the next time I write this monthly letter. The time has gone by so very fast. <3
Love you so much,
Mommy
Each month I participate in a “Letters to Our Sons” blog circle with a group of other very talented photographers. To keep working your way through the circle, please visit the blog of Ariana Falerni Photography.
Several weeks ago, I had the truly unique experience of photographing six-month-old QUADRUPLETS! I have to admit, I was pretty nervous going into it…but looking back it will definitely go down as one of my all-time favorite family sessions ever! These four sweet babies were just sooooo well-behaved and incredibly photogenic, and their parents were so relaxed and fun to be around, the session honestly could not have gone smoother if I’d tried! 🙂 Special shout out to my awesome assistant for the day, Alexa!
This month I took my Lensbaby lens with me on our family vacation to Assateague Island, best known for its wild horses. A few things I learned while on the island:
1) Those who live north of Assateague Island (namely, me) believe that this is where you go to see wild horses. Those who live below (aka, my mother in law) believe that Chincoteague is where the action is at. The correct answer is actually BOTH. Both barrier islands are nationally recognized bodies of land that are home to wild horses and in fact, there is an annual festival in the summer where the horses swim from one island to the other.
2) “Wild” is a bit of a misnomer. In fact, the horses that we saw spent most of the time hanging out by the tourist parking lots. Whomp whomp.
3) To dissuade people from feeding or touching the horses, there are graphic photos of people’s horsebites and other horse-related injuries in the Visitor’s Center restrooms. (Don’t worry, I didn’t take any such photos during my visit.)
Each month I participate in a Lensbaby blog circle, in which several talented photographers participate and link to each other’s blog posts to create a full “circle”. Please keep clicking through the circle by visiting Kristen Ryan Photography’s blog.
I did my first stylized photo session yesterday and it was so much fun! Two friends of mine have created a gorgeous play tent, as part of a design competition for Sari Fixation. Competing designers were challenged with the task of creating innovative uses for salvaged saris and I definitely think Tennyson and Haley have done just that with their gorgeously whimsical tent. My model, Miss E, was so cooperative and immediately got lost in her teddy bear tea party…a sign of a well-loved play tent, if you ask me! 🙂 To cheer on the designers, please visit their contestant page at Sari Fixation | SariTent.
Error: No feed found.
Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to create a feed.
