When: This Sunday (the 29th) morning and afternoon times still open!
Where: The studio
What’s the deal? $200 for a 10-15 minute mini session with a Valentine’s theme- includes a $150 print credit or ~5 digital files. Props for boys and girls will be available! Valentine themed or red/ pink colored clothing recommended! Perfect for Valentine cards or treat bag toppers! 
I met this family about a year and a half ago when I took their first daughter’s newborn pictures and sweet baby V is now a BIG sister!!!! Her new little sister is absolutely perfect! She was such a gem to photograph, as was her big sister- which is a minor miracle as 18 month olds are notoriously some of the most difficult models in the industry! 
These two brought back memories for me, as my two girls are the same distance apart in age. Mom and Dad are doing an amazing job of juggling a just barely toddler and a newborn!
We started off with Big sis…
Then we moved onto Miss O. I even got to use some of my new props… she modeled them PERFECTLY!!
It was awesome to see you guys again! Congratulations and enjoy your girlies!!!
Have you ever wondered what goes on “behind the scenes”? We meet, I snap a million pictures (well, it seems like a million, but it is usually between 100-200). We part ways and 7-14 days later you are presented with a gallery of fabulous proofs to view. So what goes on in those 7-14 days?
First, I download the images from my memory card on to my computer. Then when I find some time to sit down (not easy with a VERY demanding 14 month old who DOES NOT approve of computer use), I do an initial sort of the pictures. I erase any shots that have motion blur (when you are chasing kids… this is inevitable!). I remove shots that have closed eyes or nose picking (you didn’t REALLY want to see those ones- did you???). I erase shots that are just not flattering and I erase duplicate shots (I tend to take 3 or 4 at any pose just to make sure we have one without nose picking and blinking…).
Next, I open a group of files in photoshop. I look at each shot individually and decide what I need to do to make them ready for printing. My goal is to have beautiful, perfectly exposed images straight out of my camera… but let’s face it- when you are dealing with kids there are bound to be flaws! Here are some examples of what I do-
These edits can take anywhere from 2 minutes to 10 or more minutes per shot depending on the amount of boogers, drool, hair, color casts, background flaws…
After this, I save the now fabulously edited files in a new folder.
Once all of the edits are complete, I prepare them for you gallery. This includes resizing and watermarking. I then make a new gallery and upload the files to my website.
Whew… So you see… there is a lot more to professional digital photography than picking up the camera and pressing the shutter button.
…and because I cannot bring myself to have a blog post without photos… here is a sample of what a little photoshop magic can do-
Here is a shot from my ill fated session with my own kids (if you have not read the blog post about this experience, here’s the link- http://lindseyqphotography.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/mine-the-truth-about-photographing-my-own-children/). So as you remember, I had lost all light and was working with grumpy subjects- which makes for a few less than ideal shooting conditions. 1.) Low light leads to a “cool” tone to photographs and more grain. 2.) I was in a hurry, and so I did not concentrate on composition. 3.) Giving a baby candy = drool.
So here is what photographers refer to as SOOC (or “straight out on the camera”)-
It is too cool, and slightly grainy. There is dirt on his face, snot in his nose and drool on his sweatshirt.
and here is it after cropping, filtering for grain, warming up (a bunch), popping the color a bit and removing the “imperfections”…
If you have not already done so… head on over and check out the giveaway on my facebook page!
My #1 most frequently asked question is “What should we wear for our family session?” There is not one quick and easy answer, but here are some things to consider-
1. Do: Be yourself. If you are comfortable in what you are wearing, it will show. If you are uncomfortable, that will show, too! If you are a casual family, then dress casual. If your husband is never seen without a tie, then he should wear one! If your daughter has a favorite dress… work around it! Your photographs are a representation of who your family is right now.
2. Don’t: MATCH! You don’t go to the mall all dressed the same… so why do that in a photograph? It is most pleasing to the eye when people coordinate, but don’t match.
3. Don’t: Wear white. Bright white is not a flattering color for most people. It can look harsh and cause people to look washed out. Not to mention, it gets dirty easily! LOL Creams, and off-whites as an accent are fine.
4. Do: Dress around your decor. I recommend looking around your house and deciding where these pictures will hang and then planning a color scheme that will compliment your style. If you have earth-tone decor, then the hot pink dress you bought for the baby might not look so great!
5. Do: Pay attention to your shoes! Shoes can make or break a photograph. Sneakers are a big no, no. As is anything brightly colored (unless that matches your style). Nothing is worse than a gorgeous photo of your beautiful family with your son’s Spiderman sneakers stealing the lime light. Neutral colored shoes are the best. Or no shoes at all- especially for kids. Often, if a child is being held or sitting we will see the bottom of the shoes- feet are MUCH cuter!
6. Don’t: Wear clothes with text or giant logos. Cute sayings have their place. I love a “my Dad rocks” shirt or “lock up your daughters” but not for family or group shots.
7. Don’t: Be afraid of color. I love color. Pops of bright colors can accent a photograph fabulously!
8. Don’t: Go crazy with patterns. One or two patterns in a group is fine, but much more than that can be distracting.
9. Do: Plan ahead! Planning takes time and effort. I recommend getting ideas on-line and then laying the ensembles out on a bed to make sure they look good. Also- be sure to try everything on before the session. Nothing is worse than finding out 20 minutes before your session that your daughter’s sweater is too big!
10. Don’t: Spend a lot of $. You do not need expensive clothes! Clothes from target, Old Navy and Gap work just as well as those from Nordstrom. In fact, you probably have some basic items in your drawers right now that will make a great start. Add in a new sweater or scarf and voila! The perfect outfit is made!
All these Do’s and Don’ts and you still don’t have any ideas? Don’t worry! Over the next few weeks I will be adding in some specific examples of outfits that work well.
We’ll start with my family…
I spent a few days… okay weeks researching, planning and shopping… I saw a cute dress and skirt at Target and based the rest of our outfits on those. Here’s what I came up with-
and here’s the final product:
Photo courtesy of my very talented friend, Christie Hobson of www.christiehobson.com .
Preface: photographer’s children are notoriously some of the most difficult children to photograph… so much so that the condition has been given a name: PCS or “photographer’s child syndrome”. Scientists are not sure of what brings on the condition, but find that it is most likely related to suppressed feelings of jealousy towards the camera, so much so that they refuse to perform in hopes that their behavior will cause their parent to give up their career and focus more on them.
Anyway… with the first sessions of the New Year coming soon, I decided that it was time again to pick up my camera. So I asked my sweet children bribed my kids with candy and money to be my models and skipped out to my new favorite location hauling along with us, my trusty brown chair and my favorite photographer’s assistant reluctant husband. The mom in me knows that it is usually best to avoid taking your children anywhere during what should be your 1 year old’s nap time, but the photographer in me saw the beautiful and quickly fading light and decided to forge ahead. We get to the location and I place the chair in a perfect spot and ask my sweet little angels to pose for me. 
eh.. well, two out of three looking at the camera and smiling will have to do because shortly after this, the baby decided that he was done posing with his sisters and launched himself off of the chair (head first). So I spent the next beautiful hour following my angel around as he explored the natural world frantic five minutes trying to shoot pictures of my 14 month old as he attempted to climb and then fall off a rock, fell head first into a bramble bush and picked up some unknown item from the ground (I think it was alive, once).
Then the sun disappeared and I was left with three cranky kids (the older two had found a snake skin and had become terrified the snakes were going to jump out of holes and attack them, despite many reassurances that it was too cold for snakes) and very little light. But the photographer in me, trudged on, refusing to give up and knowing that the perfect shot was going to present itself at any time. But the stubborn red head in me refused to give up, knowing that I had hauled all of my stuff out there and that my kids and my husband were unlikely to do this again anytime soon. So I pulled out the candy- yes, I gave my baby Smarties… how else was I going to get the crazy kid to sit still AND leave his hat on???- and continued. Amazingly enough, out of about 25 shots (most of which involved him falling off of the chair with candy drooling from his mouth) I was able to get this-
After this I figured I got at least one decent shot and I should give up and move on to the two older kids who understand their momma’s mission and are the perfect models are old enough to be threatened into sitting still. Although as most parents have experienced- though you can threaten your children into doing something- it does not mean that they will enjoy it.
Back to the bribery we went…
and after a little discussion amongst themselves… they decided to take pitty on me and offer up a smile or two-
So making a short story long.. next time you see the beautiful shots up on my walls, know that it came only after much sweat, tears, pain and bribery.
Don’t worry, you are in the right place… I just thought it was time for an update! Whatcha think?
Sorry that the blog has been so slow! Between the holidays and switching over to a new computer- I have hardly had any time to focus on my business. But I’m back!!!!
This session was the last session of the holiday season and what a way to end! We met at a gorgeous location on a gorgeous, unseasonably warm day… and the combination of that plus two gorgeous girls was, well… breathtaking!
some of my favorite shots are the ones at the ends of the session when we are no longer worried about getting perfect poses, or dresses getting dirty, or flyway hair and kids can just be kids…
Miss E and Miss R… these two were so stinking cute!
S family- it was great to meet you! Enjoy!
I love these kids.. and I love that their mom comes up with a theme every year for their holiday shots. Last year was jammies, this year it was snow suits! So much fun!
