Taking better pictures of your kids: Get low

This is my number 1 tip for taking better pictures of your kids: Get down to their level, and sometimes even lower. 

Not only do you show their perspective, but you gain just a little bit more of their trust when you are at their level and this translates directly into the picture.

Photos at the Boardwalk

I spent several hours with this family on Saturday, and we had so much fun! These girls sure know how to model!!! They are pro and experienced with photo shoots. We all really enjoyed the boardwalk and the girls loved playing the Midway games! 

Self Portraits

As mentioned recently, I decided that it was time to suck it up and tackle my self portraits. Ben and I went out into the neighborhood and worked together to get these photos. At first, I would set everything up, jump into the shot, and he would take the pictures as I worked some angles. But slowly, he started to put in some of his own creativity. I think he did a fantastic job!

We took the photos right in our neighborhood. We live right on a lake and surrounding Orange Groves.

I used a giant Car Shade as my reflector. The car shade worked only because it was so cloudy that day.

We didn't do any studio pictures. This was done right in front of our garage causing the background to turn black.

Caitlin

Caitlin is my kind neighbor. I often see her when she is out walking her dog, when I'm stoping by to see her mom, or when I'm picking her up from school. She is always so thoughtful. She remembers the important things and the little things. When I see her, she usually asks how something recently went "Did you book that wedding?" It's obvious that she listens and genuinely cares for other people. Thats impressive for a 13 year old.

Today is Caitlin's Birthday! Whenever I talked about photo shoots with Caitlin, she told me how much she loves photo shoots, so I treated her to her own photo shoot today. It was short and we had limited time while the sun was setting, so we stuck to the neighborhood. Caitlin is a natural model and has a contagious smile. Here are some of the pictures from our shoot:

You want to see ME?

I'm constantly taking photography courses, and I have found instructors and sources whose information and education I trust completely. But one thing these sources keep telling me is that I need to put pictures of ME on my website and blog. Seriously? You don't want to see me. You want to see who I am taking pictures of.

Even though I decided I would listen to this advice about a year ago, I just didn't do anything about it. I didn't have any professional pictures of me since I got married. I had plenty of excuses like "I want my best friend and talented photographer Alexandra to take my pictures, so I'll wait until the next time I travel to Las Vegas to see her." and "I'll loose some weight first..." (sound familiar?).

Well it's time! No more excuses. I'll set my camera up and hand it over to my super helpful hubby to push the button. It will be tedious. It will take me forever to set up each shot. I will criticize every body part. But I'm going to do it! And I'm not going to use photoshop to make me unrealistically beautiful and skinny!

So stayed tuned to see photos of me, because apparently, you want to.

Tips for shooting NewBorns

I was so excited do shoot Bear Brown! I haven't always done photos of New Borns because they scared me a little bit. And not just because they're so tiny and fragile. It was mostly because I was expected to take pictures of this tiny person asleep. I focus so much of my photography on life, interaction, and real moments, and I always focus on the eyes. What do I do with a sleeping baby?

My fears were silly. I conquered the New Born photography with lots of practice and when Anne Brown asked me to take photos of her new baby, I had no hesitations!

So here are a few tips for shooting New Borns:

Go to their home
Both mother and baby were so comfortable during the shoot because I was at their home. No new surroundings to worry baby and Anne never had to feel like a guest or be nervous feeding her baby.

Turn up the heat
Keep the home warm to keep baby comfortable and happy. I also suggest a space heater to keep near baby. This causes the most peaceful sleep for the best pictures. Peaceful sleep is what is needed for the posed pictures.

Don't mess with Mama bear
Remember that this is a brand new baby and his mom is going to be protective. I like for the mom to do any moving or placement with the baby, and Mom's don't seem to mind that. Obviously, don't do anything that might be dangerous or even uncomfortable for baby. Please know that those new born photos you see with baby hanging in a wrap of sorts, is photoshop'd and there is something holding baby up safe (like mommy's hands).

Study
Just like an field or talent, study and learning is required. Spend time looking at photos of newborns and try to figure out how the photo was taken. Copying photos exactly is tacky, but looking at photos for inspiration is required for great photography. It would also be beneficial to see what Mom prefers in her photos. Send her some examples and ask for her imput. Often, they already have a favorite shoot in mind.

Bring the Macro Lens
To capture those precious moments and photos that remain special. Baby's are small and their precious body parts are even smaller. Bring the Macro to capture their hair, ears, and toes. Mom will appreciate it.

Schedule a lot of time
Even though I am often asked to just shoot for an hour, I schedule about half of my working day (4-5 hours) for the shoot. I like to arrive an hour early to set up and talk with mom about the shoot. I talk about what will happen, my shooting order, safety and comfort is first, and then I show her photos and ask if she wants to do something similar. When I am offering a shoot for 1 hour with new borns, I do not include the time used for feeding or posing baby. That takes up a lot of time. Be prepared for that and ALWAYS remain patient. If your stressed or anything but happy, mommy will notice and she will reflect that in her photos.

Bring a New Born "look book"
I keep a folder on my iPad for each photo shoot of photos I found on the internet that reflect the style that the Mom wants and what I think she wants. I always include photos that she liked or showed me in advance. I will show this to Mom at the shoot and get her opinion on many photos. This keeps me focused and calm during the shoot and keeps Mom's trust in me.

Behind the Scenes with Bear Brown

This is a behind the scenes look of my photo shoot with brand new baby, Bear Brown. See his photos Here.

We took the photos at her house, which is my preference. She turned up the heat and was able to keep her new baby boy happy and comfortable. Those intimate moments with mother and son would have been lost in my home studio, and sister would not have been ready to join at a moments notice. I was also able to capture special memories of home.

All I brought with me was a basket with wrapping paper (Black and white), a soft blanket, and a fuzzy rug (well cleaned before the shoot).

We set up a “Wrapping Paper” studio in her living room using her large glass sliding doors as our Window light. Because no direct light was hitting our studio area, there was no need for a sheer curtain or diffuser. We put the fuzzy rug on her ottoman with the wrapping paper hanging from her kitchen chairs behind for all of the pictures except the basket pictures. We ended up using the soft white blanket for the backdrop with the basket since it was an off white that worked better with the off white fuzzy rug and it turned out perfect.

Most of the shoot, however, was done in Anne’s bedroom which will make for pictures with more meaning and more memories later on. Anne had 2 big windows on each side of her bed and we used a white reflector to get the light onto Bear. With just the windows and reflector alone we were able to get back lighting, subject main lighting, and fill light and it was perfect. No artificial light or light shinning down on baby. Everyone stayed happy.

All the other props used in the shoot belonged to the Brown Family, which made them that much more special. Bear was snuggling his own stuffed animal, he wore his big brother’s tie, he rested on his blanket from Grandma, and he slept on a book written by his grandfather (whose last name was Bear). 

We allowed Bear to stay awake during the exciting shoot in the living room, then after being fed again, he slept peacefully during the remaining of the shoot in Mommy's bed with the space heater. Because he was more tired then usual, his deep sleep allowed up to pose him for his pictures. Although some of our favorite pictures came from him posing himself. He was a happy sleeping baby.

Ben worked with me and made my day so much easier. He held the reflector, unloaded and loaded the equipment, help set up, and answered my every request. So grateful for this man!

Clock Project Beginnings

Ben and I are working on a project that will be going on for a little bit. We are making a clock. We will use 12 pictures to represent each number and buy plain clock hands to tell us the time. I am so excited!

Eventually, the plan is that each picture will be family members and people we love holding numbers (1-12) to represent the numbers on the clock. But that can't be done right this second since I'm in Florida and our family is in Las Vegas.

So we got creative. We went to Magic Kingdom to find hidden number is the architecture. This is only a temporary fix until we get all the family photos we want. But it's turned out to be fun and artsy and cute and now that it's on the wall, my motivation is just getting stronger!

Here are some of my favorite numbers I found around the Magic Kingdom Park:

This came from the confectiONEry on Main Street USA. I accidentally took this photo vertically and had to crop it.  I thought I ruined it, but I think I like this even better. 

4. Mickey's Hand has 4 fingers.

I found this Five on the Carousal behind Cinderella's castle.

Ben came up with this idea and took this photo of the clock on Cinderella's Castle

I make a point to do projects like this periodically because it changes your way of thinking. It's such a great workout for your creative brain! I am never done learning and I love it!

Here is a sneak peak of my clock. Much more to come on my beloved clock project;