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Posted on August 24, 2011
Here is the drawing that Naomi did. No one guessed right so I guess Tami will get the family drawing done by Naomi since my mom already has a bunch of Naomi drawings!! This is a photo of…
Jessie from Toy Story!
Doesn’t it blow you away that a 4 year old would draw with such perspective? I thought it was incredible that she drew this and I think I may even tear it out and hang it up! So, that’s my daughters art work and I hope to share more with you as she continues to draw and learn how to draw new things.
Don’t worry mom, I’ll ask her to draw you and dad again too!
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Posted on August 23, 2011
{Jackson, TN wedding photographer, family photographer, child photographer}
I am by NO means a fashionista. I wear yoga pants or jeans and t-shirts most days and my shoes consist of flip flops, tennis shoes and two pairs of “church” shoes. There are many reasons for the way I dress but that’s not what this post is about. *whew* thank goodness I’m off the hook this time…
This post is about you and what you’re going to wear. You’ve researched the best photographer to fit your style and that you are confident will “get” you and do a marvelous job. You’ve gotten a hair cut that you actually like (but not too soon before your session…more on that later). You’ve saved your pennies so that you can invest in the art of this particular photographer that you love. You’ve inquired about the availability of that photographer and got your session on the books. Then you begin to panic. Your palms start sweating and you begin to dial the number again to cancel your session, but before your scared, illogical self can dial the number your mind takes over and you put the phone down. You have a session and you’re going to capture some great memories whether or not you have something appropriate to wear. Because really, you DO have something appropriate to wear. You just need to take some time to figure it out.
Consider the time of the year -There is always seasonally appropriate attire. You wouldn’t wear a sundress and flip-flops in the fall or winter and you wouldn’t wear a big cozy sweater and cute boots in the summer. It’s painfully obvious but it just has to be stated. Consider the colors of the seasons as well. A bright lime green and pink dress may be perfect for that beach session but it will not look the best in front of a gorgeous fall colored background.
Consider the decor in your home – If your home is filled with traditional furnishings you may not want your photo session to happen downtown or in an alley while wearing bright colors and loud prints. If your home is modern and edgy you probably don’t want your family all dressed the same and standing in a field of tall grass. So think about what your photos will say about you when you proudly hang them on your walls.
Coordinate your outfits - I know that “matchy-matchy” used to be very popular and it is still okay in some circumstances but is not necessary and just not natural (for most families, I do have some exceptions). Pick a color scheme that goes with the time of year and your home decor. Pick one or two colors and at the MOST three that will coordinate well. It’s okay to think outside the box. If no one ever thought outside the box we wouldn’t have the great color combinations that we have now. If it is a color combination that you LOVE and it works for you then it will work for your photo session. You will look great because you feel great in what you are wearing.
For summer think coral and olive, red and teal, yellow and gray, the options are plentiful. For fall think cranberry and cocoa, plum and navy, deep orange and gray. The great thing is there are so many different shades of each color that you can work in those different shades without having to pick a whole different color scheme. Scour the internet, your favorite stores, and the ads in the newspaper to get ideas for your coordinating outfits.
Let’s have the “matchy-matchy” conversation. Personally I love to make outfits for my kiddos that match. I think it’s cute. But I probably wouldn’t have them wear matching outfits for a photo session because it simply does not represent us. The kids do not wear matching outfits on a regular basis, so to have them in matching outfits for a photo session just wouldn’t be real. I want their individual personality to shine and if they’re all dressed the same that gets lost a little bit. I have a dear friend from high school who has six beautiful children (5 girls and 1 boy) with another boy on the way. She dresses her children in matching clothes a lot more than I do. They have many options when it comes to matching outfits. So, when doing a consult with her for a photo session would I tell her “don’t put them in matching dresses”? No way. Because that’s what they do and they do it well…so like I said, I do have some exceptions to the “matchy-matchy” rule of thumb. “Matchy-matchy” CAN work so don’t be totally scared away from it. If it’s done right, and in the right situation, it’s beautiful.
Prints and Patterns - You may think that prints and patterns are a “no no” when trying to coordinate your family session. But prints and patterns are great when they are used appropriately. The size of the print should be in scale with the size of the person wearing the print. A small child should not wear something with a HUGE print on it, it makes them look even smaller. A grown person should not wear an all around small print as it will make them look even bigger. Does that make sense? A proportional size print for the person is great! That being said, everyone that is in your photo session should not have a different print on. That will look confusing and will distract the viewer of your images from seeing your family. They will only be looking at the patterns that are all over the place. Pick one or two patterns that go with your color scheme and stick with that. If more than one person has the same kind of pattern on (eg. stripes) that’s okay, it can work quite nicely. For family sessions it’s great to have the little ones wearing the pattern and then the grown ups or older siblings find solid color clothing that goes with the color scheme of the patterned piece.
Textures – Textures photograph well and add a lot of depth to a photograph. Think about layering your clothing choices. Don’t forget to add jewelry, scarves, hats, whatever suits your family and your taste.
How to start… My advice would be to pick the hardest outfit first… if someone has a limited wardrobe and you don’t want to purchase new clothing for your session go through their closet first and pick something out that fits the parameters of what you are looking for in your session. My friend Anna told me that when she was thinking about her family session she started with her daughter’s dress that she loved and then put everyone in coordinating outfits to go with that dress. It worked out beautifully. Usually dads have lots of solid color shirts so it’ll probably be easiest to pick dads outfit last. Lay all your choices out on your bed so you can see what you’re working with. Ideas in your head sometimes look very different in reality.
You can even take it a step further…grab your digital camera and snap a shot of all the outfits laying out so you can get a good idea of what it may look like from the cameras perspective. I know that you’re not a professional so the image will look different than what your photographer captures but it will give you an idea if something is really off or if it looks good together. I even did this before my families mini session a couple of weeks ago. I couldn’t decide which shirt to have Micah wear so I laid out all the clothes on my bathroom floor and took some photos…the lighting was bad, the image wasn’t great but it made it painfully obvious which shirt he should wear. The camera sees things differently than our eye so if you have time and are concerned about how something might look this is an option…but please don’t feel like you HAVE to do this. 
Consider the details - Ladies, remember to have the correct under garments on…no florals under white shorts/pants/skirts if you know what I mean 
. If you wear a watch and lots of jewelry every day by all means make sure to wear it for your session. If you’re like me and hardly own any jewelry consider borrowing something small for your session, it’s like the icing on the cake. Accessories can really add a finishing touch to your photograph. Make sure to have your nails taken care of for your session and don’t forget your toes if it’s a summer session or if you’re going to wear open toed shoes. Don’t get your hair cut right before your session…just not a good idea. What if you hate it? Then you’re stuck and you’ll always remember that bad haircut in those beautiful photographs. Even for the guys, I suggest that if you’re going to cut your hair do it a week or so before your session. Otherwise a trim a few days before is just fine. It’s all about the details.
The most important thing!!!! Be YOU!! You are unique, an individual, God picked each of your traits, characteristics, and qualities just for YOU. He also picked your family just for you…so embrace who you are! Don’t try to be something you are not. Don’t dress in a way that is completely different from how you’d normally dress. Sure you can dress it up a bit more but don’t go too far out of your box. My job as a photographer is to capture who YOU are…not who you think you’d like to be. So be YOU!! And be proud of who you are and what you have to offer and your session will reflect that.
Here are a few samples of well styled family sessions!
Anna did a great job of styling these two photo sessions that I did for her family. She picked a color scheme and didn’t go crazy with prints and patterns. See how all the boys are wearing stripes in the bottom photo, it’s the same pattern with different shades of the same color so it works…and besides it’s sorta their unofficial family uniform 
Some families will choose to go with one color for boys and one color for girls and that can work out really nicely also. Here are a few examples.
I hope that I’ve helped you with some ideas for your next photo session and that I didn’t scare you away from getting your family photographed. Just remember to be you and that will shine through clearly in your photographs!
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Posted on August 22, 2011
I’m going to take a minute here and brag about my daughter. It’s my blog I can write what I want, right? Last week my little girl was so sick…she just sat around all week and didn’t do much besides, read books, watch tv and eat very little. I knew she was feeling better when she asked to draw and color again. All was right with the world. She has really come a long way in her drawing. I’ve saved some of her early drawings and I love them…but I also love where her drawings are going now. Most of the time I don’t have to ask what she drew because I can usually tell…most often now the question is about WHO she drew. Well, the other day she drew something and I had to ask what it was because I could not for the life of me figure out what she drew. As soon as she told me it became obviously clear what she had drawn. I’m posting that drawing last but I’m not going to tell you what it is. I want you to take a stab at it…guess. The person who guesses closest will get a family drawing done by Naomi.
So, here are a few of her other drawings from this weekend.
She did these first two yesterday and I didn’t get a chance to ask her who was in them before she went to bed.
This one is pretty obvious since she labeled it. Doesn’t it remind you of the baby from Rugrats? or is that just me?
Then she did a sweet drawing of herself and me.
After she finished this one I had to ask who it was. She said, “It’s Papa dressed as a girl and sitting in a box.” Papa is my dad in case you were wondering. I asked about the person on the right and she said “That’s grammy shaking her booty.” What a silly silly girl. But notice how it’s the back of grammy’s head? Isn’t that pretty good for a four year old (and she’s been doing that for a while now) or is it just me? I don’t remember what the developmental drawing stages are…maybe I should look that up again. It’s been a while since my college art classes.
Okay, so this is the one I had to ask her about. But again, once she told me what it was it was painfully obvious. So, leave a comment with your best guess and on Wednesday I’ll reveal the truth of the drawing and whoever guessed closest will get a drawing of their family done by Naomi (I’ll email you for details about your family if we’ve never met before 
). Please leave a comment HERE and not on facebook if you want a drawing!!!
Posted on August 21, 2011
I used to take the kids to the zoo a couple of times a month, if not more often. We had a zoo membership so it made sense to just go for the morning and see what we wanted to see. I’m not trying to pick on the San Antonio zoo but it wasn’t the best zoo I’ve ever been to. They did have a GREAT kids area where they could swim, play in the house, fish, and climb “under ground” to see the ground hogs. What I didn’t like about the San Antonio Zoo was their lack of animals. Many times when we went there we were lucky to see one elephant and MAYBE a zebra or a giraffe. I did hear that their giraffe maybe died somewhat recently and maybe that’s why we never saw it…but why did they only have one? And only one zebra? Okay, I’ll stop my rant because really there were some great things about the SA Zoo.
When we were on vacation earlier this month we had the opportunity to go to the Indianapolis Zoo. We weren’t going to go because it was pretty hot out, but I thought we should go since now that we moved the closest zoo to us is an hours drive away…so we don’t get to go multiple times a month or even once a month. Plus the Indianapolis zoo has dolphins and I LOVE dolphins! They’ve always been my favorite animal…and it doesn’t hurt that the synchronized swimming team that I was on was called the Dolphinettes. We really enjoyed the Indianapolis Zoo and want you to know that if you get the chance please go there and see the animals, the dolphin show, pet a shark, get wet in the sprinkler park, you name it.
My favorite land animal is the giraffe. I think that the giraffe shows God’s sense of humor and creativity. It’s like he created another horse and said, let’s make this one different and stretch it’s neck and give it a REALLY long tongue. Amazing. And the spots on a giraffe are so beautiful…God is awesome isn’t HE!!! So, while at the Indianapolis Zoo not only did we get to see a dolphin show but the kids got to feed a baby giraffe and its mother. It was so sweet to watch them inch up the giraffe hold up the sweet potato and try to not get licked. The kids loved it and I was able to get some great photos of my second favorite animal. This week i heart faces is giving a nod to pets. While clearly a giraffe is not my pet it’s a great animal created by our amazing and creative God and I wanted to share it with you today. Head over to i heart faces to see all the other “pets” too (and I bet most of the entries really are of their pets)!
Posted on August 19, 2011
{Jackson, TN child photographer}
This little lady is sick. Has been since last Saturday. She started with a high fever on Saturday around 11am and still had it yesterday morning. Dr. said she has a double ear infection and a viral infection, she put Naomi on an antibiotic. Then her eye got puffy and swollen, so we got eye drops too…she HATES the eye drops and would practically rather do anything besides get the eye drops. Hate to see my otherwise very happy, active, silly little girl just lying on the couch for a week at a time. No fun. We’re praying that the meds kick the bad stuff out and that she’ll be better soon. Hope that her eye clears up and that we can handle 3times a day for 7days of eye drops without going crazy! She’s been such a trooper and hasn’t complained much at all. In fact she didn’t really start complaining until after we saw the dr. on Tuesday. While I’m taking care of her I’m enjoying the extra snuggles, but not being coughed on. It’s a good thing I don’t have any place I HAVE to be, because there’s no place I’d rather be than rubbing her back and telling her that God is in control…I tell her that for her to hear…and for me to hear!
Prayers for her quick recovery are greatly appreciated!
