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    • We are so delighted that you are here. The National Association of Professional Child Photographers is an association whose mission is to promote and support the artistry and integrity of professional child photographers. To accomplish this mission, NAPCP provides the most comprehensive resources for its members, bringing together a community of passionate artists committed to growth in their skills, their artistry, and their businesses.

    NAPCP.com (formally pronounced "NAP-C-P") is a place where professional child photographers can come and connect, learn, teach, aspire and grow. It is also a valuable resource for parents who are looking for a professional child photographer in their area, and want to be inspired and educated about our specialized industry.

    Elizabeth C. LibertElizabeth C. Libert

    Lifestyle Session Share: Twin Boys!

    March 6, 2014 | Posted by Elizabeth C. Libert | filed in: Fun Essentials, Photography, Session Shares

    Inspiration – I shoot documentary/lifestyle sessions, so unless my clients specify beforehand that they want something a bit stylized, I tend to go into the session knowing a bit about their personalities and desires for the shoot. This was my first same-sex parent family, and they had (fraternal) twin one year old boys, and live in a city apartment, and it was winter mid-afternoon, so I was a little nervous heading in to the shoot! Before the shoot the moms mentioned that they wanted to capture the “chaos in all its glory”, so I think that was definitely one inspiration that I focused on, especially in the apartment.

    Favorite Element – The cool tones of winter paired with vulnerable, chubby, curious, and red nosed faces. I am also in love with the shot of the family crossing the street. The composition along with the family still being connected even though not on the same side – it just works for me.

    Biggest Challenge – Some of the same things that make the shoot work! The cramped apartment plus it being winter in the city with no snow on the ground don’t exactly add up to pretty photos. That plus the unfocused energy of two one-year olds… Let’s just say I knew going into this shoot that it would be challenging (plus it was my first shoot back at it after a maternity leave so I wasn’t on much sleep myself!). I just chose to delve in and do my best to capture things as they were, let the boys be themselves and enjoy playing with their moms and exploring the park across the street from their apartment.

    Final Thoughts – I left the shoot feeling crazed, and worried that there wouldn’t be any good images. I probably showed a little fear on my face when I arrived to the apartment and saw the condition it was in too! But I shot A LOT of photos. One of my goals is generally to snap the shutter less, but when you are working with little ones who are all over the place sometimes it is better to play it safe and to deal with a longer culling process later. Most of the shots weren’t great, but the final edit felt like each photo worked individually and together as part of a narrative.

    Rachel YoonRachel Yoon

    Session Share: 6 Days Old Teagan!

    March 4, 2014 | Posted by Rachel Yoon | filed in: Fun Essentials, Photography, Session Shares

    Inspiration – The parents moved into their brand new house just before Teagan was born so I wanted to show the warmth in the house where Teagan will grow up.

    Favorite Element – Definitely Teagan. She was absolute perfection. With a little bit of my help, she positioned her body, hands, and feet so nicely.

    Biggest Challenge – The light in the living room wasn’t as much as what I get at my home studio so it was challenging to have a fast shutter speed. I was on my elbows, and had my elbows on my knees to keep the camera still. The upside to it was that I was able to create dramatic black and white images.

    Final Thoughts – Traveling to a client’s home with all the props requires a lot more work but I am able to get creative and work with the environment. Being able to create images showing the space makes it more special for the client so it’s all worth it.

    Kristen the designerKristen the designer

    Happy Friday: Oscar Party Inspiration!

    February 28, 2014 | Posted by Kristen Smith | filed in: Food & Such, Fun Essentials

    Photo Credits clockwise from top left: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

    The 46th Annual Academy Awards are this Sunday and we are ready to celebrate in style! Check out a few of our inspirational finds above, as well as a couple go to recipes below. The Oscars are a perfect excuse to throw a chic party and invite over all your friends, and what would a party be without a fun game or two? Find links for printable Oscar goodies below as well!

    Oscar Bingo Printable

    Oscar Ballot Printable

    Oscar Ballot and Foldable Trophy

    Best Supporting Snacks from The Food Network

    Oscar Watch Party Recipes

    Happy Friday Everyone!

    Dana MacIntyreDana MacIntyre

    Session Share: Sleepy Toddler!

    February 26, 2014 | Posted by Dana MacIntyre | filed in: Fun Essentials, Photography, Session Shares

    Inspiration – A few months ago I came across some sleeping toddler images taken by another photographer (Daria Kielek Children Photography). I was immediately drawn to them and was inspired to put this idea into practice with my own baby girl. She is my third and final baby, and it feels like time is passing by even more quickly than it did with my other two during the baby/toddler stage. Although adorable and sweet (I may be slightly biased here), she is very busy, as most toddlers are, and she has a big strong-willed personality. I wanted to capture another side of her — the calm, quiet and serene side which is often only seen when she is sleeping. Although I adore lifestyle photography, I do enjoy modern newborn posing and wanted to try to achieve some similar poses with my toddler. After my first successful mini nap time session, I did a second session the following day because my first attempt went so well and I really wanted to see if it was possible to be successful again.

    Favourite Element – My favourite element would have to be the contrast that is depicted in the overall feel of the images, versus the reality of what a toddler really encompasses. I love the sweetness, innocence and sense of calm that I get when looking at the images, and easily forget all of the chaos and crazy that can go along with parenting a toddler :)

    Biggest Challenge - There were two. The first challenge was getting over my own fear of failure and convincing myself that the idea was not impossible, and it was something that I could do and be successful at it. The second challenge was getting my daughter to sleep and keeping her asleep while I posed her. I am used to working with newborns, but knew that my usual bag of tricks wouldn’t work in this scenario. Since this was a toddler that I was dealing with, I knew that I had to plan the session around a time that she would be most likely to sleep for me. She often does not have a consistent nap time and is a fairly light sleeper, but on these particular days it was late in the day and she was over-tired so that definitely worked in my favour. Fortunately I was able to rock her to sleep and then simply place her on my posing bag that I had set-up earlier in the day. I did keep some background music playing and the room was warm to keep her comfortable. I worked slowly while positioning her, but quickly as well in that I photographed her for 10-15 minutes and then just let her sleep.

    Final Thoughts - Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself and try something new. I am so glad that I decided take on this project for myself, and was able to capture these images of my sweet girl. Personally, I find toddler posing to be quite addictive and I intend on trying it again very soon!

    Tracy GabbardTracy Gabbard

    Session Share: Pretty in Pink Cake Smash!

    February 24, 2014 | Posted by Tracy Gabbard | filed in: Fun Essentials, Photography, Session Shares

    My key inspiration for the session was this baby girl’s adorable cupcake dress. It was the perfect shade of pink and tied in her beautiful blue eyes. The decorations were simple, which is what I wanted. I really enjoyed the attention being all about her. Surprisingly, this little lady was very serious but you might never know it by some of the amazing images we got. She gave me the cutest little giggles and smiles and as you can see she had tons of fun with her cake. Mom was a referral from a good friend. She had a bad experience at one of the chain photography stores and decided that she needed to find a professional photographer that could create a different experience. I was so honored that she choose me to do that for her. It was a great session and I have been so lucky to see her every year since. I love the images and I know that mom thinks of them as priceless.


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