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5 Tips For Fall Family Session Success
Looking to update your family photos this year? Here are some simple tips that can help you accomplish that!
Fall is here and this is generally the time of year families start to think about having updated family photos taken. As well, get that key photo to be used on the holiday cards. Whether you are a small family or a large one, these simple tips and ideas should help get you started in capturing something fun and memorable for this year.
Have a Plan
Coordinating a good shoot takes some planning. “But I want things to be spontaneous”, you say. You can still be spontaneous and in the moment, a plan just helps to at least get you going. Get an idea of the location, clothing, accessories figured out and then go about having fun creating your photos.
Wardrobe
Do you want to be more casual or dressed up? Either way, for a more timeless look, keep to solid colored outfits. Stripes, plaids and patterns generally distract the attention away from you, the subject. There are times where you can break the rules, play around and don’t get too stressed out over it. You want the outfits to match who you are as individuals and as a family.
Location
Shooting on location can be tricky. You want to look for a location that is not too busy and visually pleasing. Again, like clothing, the focus should be on you and not entirely on the elements of the background. When shooting outside, aim to be on location in the early morning (7-10am) or early evening (5-8pm), to avoid having overly harsh sunlight shining on you and your subjects. If you can’t avoid it, aim to find a spot that has some shade to work under.
Camera and Gear
More than likely you’ll be shooting this with a camera phone or a consumer level camera. Don’t forget to have it on hand! Make sure batteries are charged, memory cards are ready, a tripod and a remote if you have one. I highly recommend the tripod and a remote way of triggering the camera, otherwise get good at setting a timer and running back and forth :). That latter part of running back and forth, basically make sure to get everyone else in position and ready, mark where you will be in the photo, set the timer and get yourself into your spot.
Have Fun!
Families with children and fur-babies that might not take direction well, try to relax! They are who they are and children really know when us parents/adults want something done and time their rebellion perfectly. The plan got you all together and ready for the photo session. Having fun will help you and everyone enjoy the process and capture something wonderful for the holiday season.
I hope you found these tips helpful. Of course if you’d rather not have to think too much about planning and capturing your family photos, I of course would be happy to help do all the heavy lifting, so you all can just have fun. If you have any questions or comments I’d love to hear them.
Headshot Marathon!
What does one do at a photography conference full of amazing photographers around the world? Attempt to photograph all 500 of them!
September 4th - 7th, I had the pleasure of attending the 2nd annual The Portrait Masters conference in Phoenix Arizona. The conference is put on by my mentor Sue Bryce, bringing together photographers from around the world and amazing guest speakers to educate and inspire us all to take our work to greater heights. While I was there to take that all in, I found myself inspired to play and see how many headshots I could capture of those participating in the conference. In total there were 500 attendees, so the grand goal was to try and capture them all within the 3.5 days I was there.
Doing the math I figured spending about a minute with everyone to capture their headshot, which would require that I spend close to 8.5 hours of my time spread across those 3.5 days. With that knowledge I worked to spread my days accordingly so I could still partake in other parts of the conference, which included listening to the guest speakers, visiting the vendor booths and practicing in the shooting bays.
One of the key things in shooting for this personal project was to try and maintain a consistent backdrop. I learned early on that the location that I loved, was a bit out of the way for the attendees, so as in most things in life, I had to compromise in order to get remotely close to 500 photos. Further into the project I realized the math was calculated for optimal conditions, namely that people would be lining out the door to get their headshots with me :). I certainly had to hustle and get photographers, some a little more apprehensive than others, to get in front of the camera. In the end I was able to capture 209 headshots and have to thank my friends Ashley and Cody Lindsey for helping coordinating and assisting in the project, as well the many other photographers that walked in front of the lens and recruited more to spend a minute or so with me. From that I was able to create this fun slideshow. Sit back, enjoy the music and faces from the project and the fun collage at the end!
Follow Your Passion Project
A recap of my recent speaking and gallery event to celebrate some of central valley’s business women and entrepreneurs.
Over the past few months I had been working on a project that started like many do, with a thought. The general thought was to connect with local business owners and take a picture of them. Over time, it evolved into something more. Something that would become a gallery exhibition of local female business owners, celebrating their contribution to the community and inspiring others in the audience to follow their passion in life.
I loved taking in the process of getting this project up and running. Learning something completely new and overcoming hurdles that presented themselves along the way. From the beginning I knew I wanted to do black and white portraits of each individual. As well I knew that I wanted to print them big! 40” x 60 “ big! That was the first challenge, sourcing prints that huge! In the end with the cost involved, I decided I’d invest in myself and purchase a printer capable of printing that large.
The Canon Pro-4000 printer. The machine I would use to bring this gallery to life!
After that, it was a matter of recruiting local business women and entrepreneurs to come sit for me. I think I got lucky there, because with the help of my friend Anna Hatton, I filled up my list of people to photograph within a couple of days! I think, photographing as it was the part I’m most familiar with was of course the easiest.
Next hurdle was to figure out a venue that could showcase the many large prints planned for display. The idea was to have 20 images! I’m glad I didn’t push for a full 20, I ended at 15, because I wouldn’t have been able to fit it at the venue I was able to get into. That was in the beautiful Greens on Tenth venue. Many thanks go out to Ann Endsley for providing such an amazing space to showcase the images!
Last of all, I decided that rather than have a gallery exhibition, to create an event out of it. One with both gallery and speaking engagement involved. That meant I had to speak! The most I’ve ever spoke in front of was probably 20 people. I was hoping to having 100+ people at the event :). Suffice to say, I figured out what I wanted to say and on August 26th, made it happen!
Again it was great to see a project go from concept to completion! I learned so much from the process and definitely plan to do bring other projects to light. Here is the gallery of the amazing women that were photographed for the project. I’m so inspired by all of them, women who went out and pursued their passions and in doing so brought to life businesses that fuel them and make our local community all the better with their presence.
Ann Blair Endsley
Owner, Greens on Tenth, Underground Kitchen, Event Collection, Gather
Web: greensontenth.com, undergroundkitchen.net, greensmarket.net
Facebook/Instagram: @annendsley, @greesontenth, @gather.2.gether
Debbie Hinz
Owner & Embroiderer, A Stitch In Time
Web: www.stitch-art.net
Facebook: @stitchart1961
Instagram: @debbienewmanhinz
Erica Ormsby
Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker, Author
Web: ericaormsbyinternational.com
Facebook/Instagram: @ericaormsbyinspired
LinkedIn: Erica Ormsby
Jessica Chang Irish
Owner/Public Speaking Coach, Jessica Chang Consulting
Web: www.jessicachangconsulting.com
Facebook: @jessicachangconsulting
Instagram: @jesschangrish
Kelly McCarthy, CPCC
Designed Life Coach, Kelly McCarthy Coaching
Web: www.kellymccarthycoaching.com
Facebook: @kellymccarthycoaching
Instagram: @kelly_mccarthy_coaching
Kendra Dahlstrom
Faith-based Business Strategy & Life Coach
Web: kendradahlstrom.com
Facebook: @kendraLIYC
Instagram: @kendra_your_calling
Stephanie Carver, BSN, RN
Co-Owner/Integrative Health Consultant, Ho’ola Essential Oils
Web: www.hoolaessentialoils.com
Facebook: @hoolaessentialoil
Instagram: @hoolaessentialoils
Summer Barker
Owner & Lead Artist, M.U.A.H by Summer
Facebook: @MUAHbySummerBridalTeam
Instagram: @m.u.a.h.bysummerbridalteam
Tammy Wu, MD
Owner/Plastic Surgeon, Surgical Artistry, Inc
Web: www.surgerytoday.com
Facebook: @modestoplasticsurgery
Instagram: @surgical_artistry
And check out the gallery of images from the nights event here!
Awards and Accreditation!
When you have a passion for something, I think it is only natural that one gets to a stage where they are constantly striving to improve themselves. There's a vision in my head of the work that I want to produce...
When you have a passion for something, I think it is only natural that one gets to a stage where they are constantly striving to improve themselves. There's a vision in my head of the work that I want to produce. Some days I do not feel like I'm making forward progress and other days I feel like I'm making huge strides. Irregardless of the perceived back and forth progress, I know I'm taking action and continually moving forward.
Speaking to the constant improving of oneself, I have been working on my path to becoming an associate level photographer through The Portrait Masters Awards and Accreditation program. This recent round of submissions there were over 6,500 images submitted worldwide, judged by a panel of 9 award winning photographers. I submitted the following images and each received a bronze merit, signifying work that is of a professional level.
I'm very proud of the achievement and it all helps me get one step closer to becoming an associate photographer. As well, very appreciative of the wonderful clients who also help make this journey a possibility! I'm looking forward to the next round of submissions come August and excited for the new work that will be submitted. Hopefully even have one or more of them that merit gold or silver!
Click on an image to view full-sized image.
