How to photograph a great Red, White, and Blue Mini photo session.

To start offering mini sessions, it is important start with a wonderful set. I have attached a link for my video on my setup for the Red, white, and Blue mini sessions.  I am offering these June 11th and 18th.  I started with a simple blue backdrop. I chose a backdrop also that was a medium to dark tone of blue.  I purchased a set of paper fans from a local discount store and added those to the backdrop.  I hung the fans from the backdrop stand  with clear fishing wire. It can still be seen when photographing.  The fishing line can easily be cloned out in Photoshop.  


I paired the backdrop with a dark wood roll out floor. I like the darker color with the red white and blue.  I also spray painted a chair red that I picked up at a local resale store for 8.00 .  I had a few other props around that matched a red rocking chair for kids, and a white children chair.  I shopped at a local dollar store and picked up a bag full of props.  I purchased some fun items that the kids could play with and do fun photos with if they did a good job with their pictures. 


These mini session are great for the 4th of July. They really show the patriotic side.  Most local dollar stores will have sessional items around the time of holidays.  You can pick up props that are themed very cheap.  With working with kids they tend to destroy items quickly so I do not like to spend allot of money of them. Check out the video below for a sample of my set up and props.  Here are some sample photos of the finished products . www.amandabuckleyimaging.com


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr6pnJQUTvFdPrYzB8RmvZg

Tips on a successful family shoot.

Tips and tricks to achieve the best family photo session. It's isn't always easy to get the best family photos. The larger the family the more difficult to get everyone kids included to cooperate. 

Small families typically are the easiest to photograph with older children. They can be positioned and listen well to achieve a flawless photo. I find with younger kids it's much easier to just allow them to do what they do put them in the area you want them and then allow them to be kids talk to everyone in the family and move around a little the photos will be more effortless and pretty. 

I love for children to being props will help such as a small toy that would blend with the photo. I also like to hold a variety of stuffed animals . I being a few different ones because sometimes kids do not always respond to the one you pick.   I try to pick a character that allot of kids know. Olaf from frozen is popular so he has been the best animal right now.  Having toys that squeak or rattle are good to have for children under 5. I like to bring small stools or chairs also for the kids to sit on. 

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The perfect mommy and me photo session.

The With Mother's Day quickly approaching mommy and me photo shoots are very popular. What a wonderful way to create a lasting moment between a mother and her children. I often offer these sessions for girls and boys. For these I think it is important to have some type of props to engage the mother and child. For girls I purchased this gorgeous tea sets. It's China but small and children sized. I opted to go for the real deal instead of plastic because it looks so much nicer in a photo. For boys I have a few children's books that are large enough when photographed can be easily seen. 

 

I love the idea also of incorporating something to sit on. I found this gorgeous bench that matches the set well.   I did standing , seated on the floor and settee for posing options. If the child has been taller they could have also leaned over the back of the settee.  

For the editing I tried to give these more a vintage feel. I wanted them to be light in color and soft. Do I did a soft lense focus of 2.8 to keep them very soft. I even went on photo shop and added more lense blur. I also instructed the mother and daughter to wear coordinating colors for there photo shoot. This will make a huge difference in the final outcome of your session. 

I have also recent offered a photo locket to purchase. These have an antique feel and a 2x2 inch photo locker on them.  They are around 28. The price is good and product is beautiful. 

These photos have been very popular. It's a wonderful chance to capture children and their mother at young age. Something That they will treasure as a lasting memory. 

How to get great photos when children are not cooperating !

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to deliver stunning photos to your clients and the children do not want to cooperate.  There are allot of little tricks and tips to do when photographing families. The kids do not always want to look your way or even acknowledge you are there sometimes. This makes for an extremely hard job.

I like to take the time to try and get the kids interested in something else. In these photos we were outdoors so it didn't take much to find something the boys were interested in. 

Snapping a few shots while they are just playing and doing whatever they like is great. This makes for wonderful natural photos. 

This was a great article with allot of great tips.

http://digital-photography-school.com/7-tips-for-photographing-kids/
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/a-father-who-creatively

In Mommy's Shoes ! A fun photo shoot idea in mommy's wedding gown.

I thought it would be fun to do something different and unique for children's photos.  I titled this session in mommy's shoes.  Have your clients child dress in her mothers wedding gown and all of her accessories.  I recreated a mini bride from the wedding day.  This is so much fun. I had the mom bring her wedding gown, jewelry, shoes and anything else that she had from her wedding.  We were able to incorporate all of these items into the photos shoot this way. Also have the mother bring any photos of herself she may have. It is fun to use the daughter to recreate those same photos.  Having allot of accessories was great because it gave us a chance to do a variety of different poses and photos.


We did the child models hair in the studio.  We photographed two different looks for her. We did a few photos with her hair down and a few photos with her hair in a cute up do.  The mother brought several accessories and we played around with those during the shoot also.


We did a few shots of the daughter wearing the mother shoes which obvious were to big but looked really cute for photos. We did a few with a veil that that the mother wore for her wedding day.  The dress was way to big in the top so we took a few safety pins and pinned the top back tight so it wouldn't gap open for photos.   The child model also had long hair so it was nice that is covered allot of the top that was to big.


For makeup we thought a little bit more dramatic makeup would be great.  We did a heavier eye makeup with eyeliner and mascara to make her eyes pop.  For the lips we did a medium pink shade that photographed lovely. 


This had to have been one of the most fun shoots we have done.  The daughter had so much fun dressing up in her mom wedding gown for photos. I think every little girl loves to dress up and wear a fancy gown and play with makeup.  The final images were perfect.  www.amandabuckleyimaging.com
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How to get a good children's studio photo.

Anyone who has ever tried to snap a photo of a young child would know that it is extremely hard. Many children between the age of 1 and 4 are just simply all over the place. They will not sit in one spot for more than 5 seconds. This can make taking photos of children very challenging. One trick that I like to use is to switch up the props frequently. Children have a very limited attention span.  So constantly changing props around will help to keep their attention. I also try to have lots of toys on hand this will keep them engaged in looking your way for more than just a few seconds. Suggesting I parents to bring children after they have had a nap,

or at their happiest time of day is also a big help. Keeping patient and trying very hard will always result in a beautiful photo. 

How to take a pretty bridge photo.

A landscape can be one of the hardest things to photograph. I would suggest picking the best time of day for your photos. Pick a time of day when your bridge is light perfectly. This way your bridge will stand out in a photo. I like to also shoot in camera settings with a higher appeture number. Higher number will allow you to have a more in focus photo. I prefer having a bridge photo that is more in focus with a background slightly in focus. To much background blurr for a landscape is just not something I prefer.  Think of a different viewing perspective.  Get up higher than normal or lower than normal this will make for a more visually interesting photo. Posting the same straight on view that every spectator can post on their phone just isn't the best option. The photo below was taken at sunset at point park in Parkersburg, WV. I am always chasing a beautiful sky.  Www.amandabuckleyimaging.com 

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