Say..."cheese?"

If you have been to my studio or worked with me before you know I am not a fan of "Say CHEESE!" to elicit smiles. Why? Well, for one reason, after 19 years of photographing children I'm just plain tired of hearing that shouted over my shoulder when I'm working. I know that parents just want great smiles from their kids! And believe me, I want that too; but part a photographer's job is connecting with their subjects, not just pushing a button. Whether I'm at my studio or at a school I work to establish a rapport with children and I have a huge array of words and silly phrases that I will drop to get those natural smiles from them. I've also found with some kids that they've heard "say cheese" so much that it no longer means a natural smile, just a pasted-on fake one. So say no to CHEESE and trust me (or whoever your photographer is!) to get those spontaneous, happy smiles from your children!

#hamptonroads #photographer #hamptonva

Choosing the right background for your portraits

These are from a session I did a few years ago in the Fall at a park here in Hampton; I started out by the lake because sometimes the water reflects the colors from the trees but on this particular day it was a bit windy and as you can see more than half of the background is just the whitish water. This lovely family looks great and they did like the portrait! But I knew I could do better with the background so we moved around and ended up in another location where the background is pretty but not distracting, allowing the family to shine. This is my tip for you today! When taking pictures of people, whether you are an amateur or professional, look for backgrounds that don't pull focus from your subjects. Of course there are always exceptions! Sometimes the background IS the point, but that's a tip for another day.

#hamptonva #portraitphotography #outdoorportraits #familyportraits

Santa is returning to our studio!

It's time to sign up to see SANTA at our studio! Avoid long lines and rushed visits; our Santa sessions are by appointment and last about 15 minutes, plenty of time for children to visit with Santa and tell him what they want for Christmas! Still $50 to schedule and that includes one 5x7, or the value of the 5x7 can be applied to larger prints, digital files, or other products. First up is Santa Jamie with the classic fireplace set on November 22nd, December 6th, and December 13th: tinyurl.com/santafireplace 

And then Santa Joe will be back with Santa's Workshop on November 29th: tinyurl.com/workshopsanta

Santa sessions take place at our studio, located at 768 Settlers Landing Rd, Hampton Va. We'll see you there!