For Parents
For Photographers
    • Dana PughDana Pugh

    Session Share: At Home With Baby

    August 9, 2011 | Posted by Dana Pugh

    One of my favorite things about my job is returning to visit one of my families. I love watching them grow and change as people and as a unit. I met this family once before. We played in a field and their shy little girl slowly became my friend. By the end of the session, we walked to their car hand in hand.  When I arrived for this session, she once again took me by the hand and gave me her favorite book so that I could read to her. I knew that the session would be relaxed and truly capture this family at this moment in their history. This is a wonderful reason to build a relationship with a photographer. Children are much more at ease the second or third time around. It’s like welcoming an old friend into your home for a visit. This is exactly what this session felt like…like I was visiting friends who had just had a baby. I read stories with their daughter. We chatted about breastfeeding and nighttime feeds. We laughed at how tough it can be adding a second child and marveled at how wonderful it is as well.

    From a photographer’s perspective, going back allows you a bit more creative freedom. You already know that they trust you on a deeper level than they did the first go around. If there is something you have been wanting to try, you know that because of this trust you can ask them to do it. I love that this family allowed me into their home this time. They now have a series of images that truly show where they are at this point in their life and the little details that just happen to be present–like the book on the coffee table was mommy’s favorite book as a child–these just add to the beauty of it all.

    Amy LarsonAmy Larson

    Session Share: Fun at 6 Months!

    September 16, 2010 | Posted by Amy Larson

    I love photographing chunky six month olds!  At this stage in life, babies are just starting to discover the world around them.  They are growing rapidly and very active, but more often than not, they are still a little wobbly; not fully able to sit up on their own for more than a few minutes at a time.  With their lack of body control, a cushy surface is helpful to pad their fall.  When scheduling sessions, I recommend mommy and daddy’s bedroom as a natural light studio.  What better surface to fall back on than a soft padded bed? To ensure safety, I always place the baby/babies in the middle of the bed and have mommy and daddy beside them at all times.  Once everyone is in place, it is time to snap away.  Babies sitting, babies on their bellies, babies on their backs, babies eating their toes… the options are endless!
    Session Share Survey:Inspiration: My clients are my true inspiration. I try to translate their connection with each other in every photo I capture.
    Favorite Element    :     I love that mommy included her own touches, from the hair bows to the tutus.
    Biggest Challenge    :     Photographing twins has enough challenges of its own, but I would probably say attempting to get both girls to sit up at the same time!
    What Clients Said    :     “Amy is an amazing photographer! I was pleased with the pictures she took of our twin girls. Amy was extremely accomodating and when she arrived at our home for our session, I felt like I had known her for years.”
    Final words from Photographer    : I want to say a special thank you to the Hodges family for choosing me as their photographer.  When they first contacted me to photograph their girls, they shared a piece of their lives that touched my heart.  It was only a year and a half ago that the Hodges experienced a tragic loss.  Their firstborn son was born prematurely and passed away in the NICU when he was only five weeks old.  Sadly, he never had the opportunity to leave the hospital to be at home with his family.  Shortly after his death, they found out they were pregnant and the delightful news of twins made it twice as special. Clients like the Hodges make my job that much more meaningful!

    Lisa ThomasLisa Thomas

    For the love of the littlest ones…

    September 9, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Thomas

    You’ve counted their fingers.  You’ve counted their toes.  The newest member of your family is finally here after months and months of waiting and dreaming.  There is no other time that is filled with such joy and innocence.  You take a million snapshots and post them on Facebook, but did you think to have them professionally photographed at this phase?

    Yes, they’re peeling.  Yes, they’re sleepy (we hope).  They’re all wrinkly.  They have their umbilical cord still attached, but what an amazing, fleeting time of life to capture.  It’s gone in a blink of an eye.  Literally.  It’s only about 2-3 weeks for most babies before they start waking up and filling in and looking more like an infant and less like a newborn, which is why we, as photographers, encourage you to call your photographer before your baby is born.

    Me, personally, I love photographing newborns. Absolutely love it.  It’s hot (we set the temps to 85-90degrees!), it’s longer hours (3-5 hours for 1 session), I frequently am peed and pooped on- what’s not to love?  J  These precious little ones take love and care to properly photograph, and more than that, they take patience.  As a mom of 4, patience is a must and I try to bring that and my love for my littlest clients to each and every session.  I look forward to lulling them into a deep sleep and bending them into little works of art.  And I love even more, when my clients see their portraits and are so thankful that they made the decision to capture this phase, as they realize that it’s only been a few weeks  since their session and their baby no longer looks like the amazing newborn that they see in their images.

    Holly SissonHolly Sisson

    Photography Equipment Tips for Parents

    September 7, 2010 | Posted by Holly Sisson

    Many people have asked me for recommendations regarding photography equipment, which camera, lens, etc. First off, I have to admit that I’m a Canon girl, so I am most familiar with the Canon lineup, however you can easily find comparable products from Nikon, Sony, or whichever brand you prefer. (I would actually recommend either Canon or Nikon as they are the two most popular brands, which can be handy if you wish to sell equipment or purchase used lenses.)

    The number one thing that I recommend, for those about to delve into purchasing their first DSLR, is to purchase a stand-alone body, rather then the camera/lens combo. The reason for this is that generally speaking, unless you purchase a higher end model of camera, the lens that comes bundled with the camera is often not a very good lens. The camera bodies will improve over time, and the quality of the lens will show in the images.

    So, what do I recommend? For an entry level DSLR I don’t think you can go wrong with the Canon Rebel line. For example the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi from Adorama is an affordable stand-alone body. Next up I recommend something called a ‘prime’ lens, such as the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8. A prime lens is a fixed focus length lens, which means that is does not zoom, you have to use your feet to zoom in or out. Now, this may sound inconvenient, especially if you are photographing fast moving children. But there is a reason I recommend a prime lens, and it has to do with light.

    You may have noticed the f/1.8 in the above product name and wondered what it meant. Basically it has to do with the amount of light that the lens lets in, the smaller the number, the larger the opening (if you think of it as a fraction, it makes more sense, it is easy to see that f/1.8 is larger then f/5 for example). Why is more light important? Because it will allow you to shoot in lower light situations without using the flash (which generally ruins the atmosphere of the scene). Having a brighter lens allows for lower ISO values, ISO also controls the amount of light in an image, but with high ISO (more light) also comes degradation of the image.

    The Canon 50 mm f/1.8 is what is sometimes referred to as the ‘nifty-fifty’, a very inexpensive plastic lens, but a good starter if you have budget constraints. If you can afford to spend a bit more, I would recommend the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 or, even better, the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8. I have owned the Canon 85 mm f/1.8 (before I upgraded to the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L, which is in a whole other category), and currently have the Canon 50mm f/1.4 mm, but definitely preferred the image quality of the 85mm f/1.8 over the 50mm f/1.4.

    Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4, Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 & Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II

    Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi, Canon EF 50mm f/1.4, Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 & Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II

    The other reason that I recommend a ‘prime’ lens for the first lens is that it’s a good starting point for your photography. Some photographers don’t know what kind of photography they want to do at first. Will they want to take telephoto images (subject is far away) or wide-angle images? Starting with a fixed focal length lens can help you realize what is it you want to be able to capture, however it can definitely be handy to have a zoom lens, especially if you are photographing children. For a second starter lens I would recommend the Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II. This will allow you to shoot a bit wider, at 28mm, but also have the ability to zoom in on your subject at 105mm. The price you pay is that this lens isn’t very bright. At 28mm it has an f-stop of f/3.5, at 105mm it is f/4.5. It lets in a lot less light then your fixed focal length prime lens. But having the two lenses will give you the best of both, a great lens for lower light conditions and a more versatile lens for shooting outdoors in brighter conditions.

    Oh, and one more benefit for your brighter prime lens? You can achieve the beautiful out-of-focus background called ‘bokeh’ with a larger aperture lens. This is one of the reasons I upgraded to an even brighter prime lens with the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II, I just LOVE the bokeh I can achieve with it, see the examples show below. Part of achieving bokeh also has to do with the ratio of camera to subject/subject to background, but the beauty of digital photography is you can play and learn!

    I hope this blog posting has helped you, if you are in the market for a new camera and lens. Please post any questions below in the comments, I’ll visit regularly to answer them.

    Daughter and mother/daughter, with beautiful bokeh. Shot with the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II lens

    Shot with the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II lens

    Linda De Los ReyesLinda De Los Reyes

    Clients’ Photo Displays

    August 29, 2010 | Posted by Linda De Los Reyes

    Besides the actual photo shoot, one of the things I love doing with my clients is sitting down with them to whittle down the many fabulous images to the favorite few. This is a process that generally takes about one hour, sometimes longer, sometimes less. This particular client knew exactly where she wanted to put her favorite images – on her bedroom wall near the sitting area. This is a space reserved for complete relaxation after a long day at work or running around with her kids. She wanted to be able to look up at her wall, see her children and smile.

    We started with ideas for a mix of portraits and storyboards as there were so many images she wanted to display. But as we filtered through the photos, she realized that what she really wanted was a simple, uncluttered look on her wall. With large portraits of her favorites, she would be able to enjoy each one more fully. Since she has two children, we decided on the best single image each of her daughter, son and the kids together. In the chosen image of her daughter, she loved the gleeful look in her eyes as she shoveled yet another pile of sand into the bucket. In the photo of her son, she loved how the image displayed his natural exuberance and playful spirit. And the middle image of her son and daughter together touched her heart because it shows how close the two of them are. (The side portraits are 16″ x 20″ and the middle portrait is 20″ x 20″)

    In fact, each of her kids really wanted to have a photo of them together in each of their rooms. Since it would be in her kids’ rooms, Mom decided to make them extra special and went with 1.5″ deep canvases. The one in her daughter’s room (left, yellow wall) is 16″ x 16″ and the one in her son’s room is 16″ x 20″ (right, blue wall).

    Another client of mine just happened to be an interior designer. This was obvious when I saw how she set up her twin sons’ nursery. It looked like a room straight out of Pottery Barn. It is beautiful, to say the least. She reserved the wall above the cribs for baby photos. She loved the baby parts storyboard idea but wanted to somehow include her and her husband’s images in there as well since someday, she plans to give her sons their storyboards. I thought it was a fabulous idea (how I would have loved to have photos of my own mom and dad when I was born!). These storyboards are 16″ x 16″.

    I love it when my clients send me photos (or have me come over to take some photos) of how they displayed their images. Not only does it warm my heart to see art I created on their walls, it gives other families ideas to consider when they have their photos done.


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