Captivating ImageryFirst-Year Portrait Session: Hartwood Acres Mansion
This first-year portrait session at Hartwood Acres Mansion took place just two weeks ago and was such a bright spot in my day.
Tag Archive for: children
Pittsburgh Children’s and Family Photography: A Sweet Narrative
It’s funny how sharing new work is the last thing on my list when I’m busy. But I’ve been blessed with a busy spring and summer and after sharing the joys of photographing a lovely wedding last month, I’d like to share one of my favorite things to photograph. This family portrait session marks the first birthday of this proud mom and dad. I love how in just an hour of photographing this family on a bright and early morning, there is a sweet narrative of interactions between these parents and their daughter.
Cranberry Family Portraits: Three Tips to Help Little Kids Make It Through Your Session
Confession: family portraits with little children used to frighten me! I didn’t gain the experience I have today as a family portrait photographer until I had my own family. My two busy boys have taught me a thing or two about setting reasonable expectations, keeping them engaged, and making photoshoots fun! Thank you boys! I’ll use a recent photo from our beach vacation as an illustration:
I picked out their outfits on a rare solo shopping trip months in advance. When we were getting them dressed, we had to bribe them to wear said clothing. We walked to the beach (this was our third day at the beach) and while I envisioned them sitting neatly together in the sand with the ocean behind them, they had other ideas. First, they HAD to frolic in the ocean and dig in the sand, so I photographed that instead. I had almost given up on my goal for that trip to the beach thinking we could just come back another day. But on the way home, I asked them to stop by this sand dune and with some silly charades from their daddy, this sweet photo is the result.
After having shared all of that, my goals for my own family are not the same for my client’s sessions. I spend time getting to know my clients’ desires and priorities for the photo shoot and am much more focused on making that happen within the time allowed. I just thought I’d share some background before getting into what I feel is most important when photographing sessions with little ones. Here’s a recent photo shoot with a family in Cranberry to give you a feel for what to expect.
Ok, tip #1: Keep moving. There’s nothing worse than to plop a kid down and expect them to stay in one place for more than a few minutes. I like to pick locations that are conducive to walking and offer variety in scenery.
Tip #2: Less is more when it comes to props. Other than a chair, a book, or bubbles, too much attention is given to managing props. We didn’t need anything for this mommy and me portrait, just mom and her daughter so that the focus is on their special relationship.
The same goes for this baby girl and her daddy.
Tip #3: Have fun. To keep this little sweetie interested, we told her we were going on a nature walk. So when she found this walking stick, we went with it. When I engage with kids and they have an idea to offer, I want them to experience the pleasure of this process!
If you’d like to talk more about scheduling a family photo shoot, please let me know. I’d love to hear from you!
Cranberry Family Portraits: On-Location with Little Ones
I know this sweet family from church and was blessed to be able to make some portraits of them this fall. It’s great to get outside for family portraits, especially with little ones because they aren’t confined to the limits of a studio (i.e. – sitting still so that the light is right and the tripod doesn’t need to be adjusted…as a mom of two young boys, I am a firm believer in the least restrictive environment!). Although I will say, it’s a workout for parents to keep their little ones close and engaged. But the results are so worth it!
I just love the sweet and pure faces from little ones this small.
We were shooting right into the sunset on a particularly sunny day for Pittsburgh!
I love walking shots, and for little ones it’s easiest sometimes to put them up on a parent’s shoulders.
And I love this moment where this sweetheart pauses just long enough for her close-up.
And this happens at almost every session with toddlers. Dads love to turn their kids upside down and the kids love it too!
Here’s our fearless leader leading the way!
And this is probably my favorite shot of the whole family. So blessed!
Three Generations Family Portrait
A good friend of mine wanted to plan a photoshoot as a gift for her mom’s birthday. We had a beautiful fall day and four little ones ages 2 and under. This sweet family has really grown in the last few years!
We met in her parent’s backyard in Beaver County and stood in the shade of the setting sun.
Before the shoot we talked about the groupings of portraits for the whole family, individual families and some candids of the kids, because while it would be great to capture everyone smiling at the same time, it was not likely with a group this big and children so small.
I know the stress of wanting to get your children to smile for their photos. And I feel it keenly because my sons are some tough subjects to photograph being that they’re little boys who are constantly on the move.
This photoshoot didn’t produce that one shot with everyone smiling, but there are a few where everyone is looking at the camera. We’re documenting that day with the kids at those given ages and as moms and dads, we can recall when our child bumped his head fifteen minutes before the shoot or how our toddler would not budge on smiling for the camera. I remember my parents and grandparents reminiscing over the challenges of photographing me and my sister and cousins when we were little. It sweetens the memory and we have a lot more to talk about than perfect smiles on cue.
Aren’t these two above adorable? They were playing with sticks and I just really liked this moment as they were looking off to the side at their parents.
Such a sweet mama and baby!
For parents wanting to know how to coax some smiles out of their kids, I suggest three things: limiting the chaos behind the camera (for anyone not being photographed in the current shot, it’s best to be out of sight and not calling for the kids to smile – only one designated person should do that—which brings me to my next suggestion), having one dedicated person located at the side of your photographer to make funny faces and encourage the kids (although not necessary, your photographer can do this on his/her own as well), and lastly treats! I use candy with my kids. I figure that a photo shoot is an important enough event that having a little positive reinforcement to get my kids to cooperate is never bad. I even give them candy throughout the shoot. I don’t mind seeing my boys’ with lollipops in their photos. When my second son was born, I gave my oldest Smarties to chew on while our photographer did our newborn/family photos. You couldn’t see the Smarties, but you could see his smile! And that’s saying something even just a week after the huge adjustment of becoming a big brother! He’s probably smiling mostly because he was happily crunching on candy and I was happy to give him that reward for his cooperation.
Planning & Pricing Guide
