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!

Halloween Portraits food drive!

Our 16th annual Halloween Portraits food drive will take place Saturday October 18th and 25th at our studio, located at 768 Settlers Landing Rd, Hampton Va! In exchange for a $20 donation or $20 worth of food for the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank you will get a 5x7 of your child in their Halloween costume. No further purchase required! Sign ups for appointments are open now! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0F4BABAB29A57-58817545-halloween#/