Here are some pictures from the mini portrait sessions I've been doing lately:
Hi Everyone! Just wanted to send a quick note to let you know I'm going to be offering mini-portrait sessions throughout the summer this year! This is a great way to get professional portraits done for significantly less than the cost of a full session.
What is it?
Mini-Sessions are short and sweet 30 minute sessions that take place in a variety of awesome pre-selected outdoor locations in the Bay Area. They’re designed to capture a few great images of your child or family as an alternative to a longer, more-personalized Full Session. Within two weeks after your session, you’ll receive a link to a private online gallery where you can view your finished images (typically 15-20 final images).
These are perfect for those fleeting special moments in time that need to be captured quickly:
Maternity portraits
Baby's First Year
Children's milestones (birthday's, graduations)
Mommy and Me
Families
Couples
Senior Portraits
Pets
How much?
Sessions are $99 each and last 30 mins long.
When?
Check your email, or contact me, for available dates and times.
What do you get?
The mini session is an all-in-one package priced at $99 (plus tax). Included in the price is your 30 minute session, online image viewing on Pictage, and one 8x10 print OR one high resolution file of your favorite image. There is no additional session fee and no minimum order. A disk of all the high-resolution digital negatives is available for purchase as an add-on, or individual files can also be purchased.
Details, details...
All sessions are by appointment only. Full payment is required at the time of booking to hold your slot. The session fee is non-refundable, however you can transfer your session to a new date if it's cancelled no later than 48 hours before your session time.
Please email me for more information or to reserve your session time today!
Both of these youngsters are between 9-12 months of age. Boy can they move! Nothing at all like shooting newborns.
Baby Elle alone and with mom Lisa;
Baby Ishan with mom Rupam
with dad
big sister Ayesha
affecting boredom as only a 4 year old can...
Technical notes: I usually start out the session by photographing the baby on a neutral background...either white seamless or black cloth works nicely. This gives us a lot of really nice, clean images we can use for announcements, holiday cards, etc. and it works no matter where we are shooting or what the location looks like. I shoot with my Qflash in a medium (24x36) recessed softbox, for soft directional light that wont bounce all around the room.
We will normally take some shots "au naturel," and some with baby in various states of dress. Overall I am looking for natural expressions, personality, and not needing (or expecting) the baby to stay still. I let the parents play games with baby or use a noisy toy to get him/her to look towards the camera once in awhile. If the baby is quiet for a moment, I take the time to shoot details of the hands and feet, along with some more solemn images of the baby herself. Newborns and the very young may be photographed sleeping or lying/sitting semi-awake. It is important to start shooting shortly after feeding time, when the baby is relaxed and content.
From there it's time to bring mom and/or dad in, and this is where we start to capture more of the interaction between them and baby. I love it when the home has a large window to backlight the parents with, and a nice couch or chair that helps focus the composition on the baby and parent. I tell the parents to just cuddle and play with their child, to forget that I'm there.
After a few minutes of this the older babies will usually get a bit fussy, from being held down and focused on for so long, and may need a break. If he/she seems ok to shoot again after 10-15 mins, then we can put baby on the floor and let him crawl around a bit and play with toys in a more active way. This is a good time to get environmental portraits.
Finally, if there are older children to be photographed, the baby's break time is a good time to do it. Younger kids will want their own time in front of the camera, and they are more likely to share the spotlight later for family portraits if they get it. It's very important to notify the parents that you don't need them to tell their children to smile, or to order them around in any way. Younger kids especially don't know how to fake a smile, and when they try they usually end up looking constipated. :) It's enough to just talk to them, and let their natural happy expressions come out when they talk about something they like.
The results
I was really happy with my images from Day 2 of Flourish Workshop: the bridals and Lights Out sessions especially. I am hoping to do more of both of these this year. Taking bridal portraits is not really something that we do on the West Coast, perhaps because of the stigma of formal, stuffy, cheesy studio photography that the genre has endured. Yet brides out here put just as much thought into their dress, and their overall wedding look, as do brides in the South or East...sometimes even more so. With all of the cool location possibilities that exist in the Bay Area, I think it would be a no-brainer to reframe the bridal portrait as a way to express the individuality and real beauty of the bride on her own, without her partner in tow. And although these bridals were shot in the studio, the variety of set design and lighting gave all three women a very distinct look and feel:
Soft and classically romantic Erica (gown by Romona Keveza)
Clean and modern (and kinda sultry) Sarah (gown by Amsale)
Quirky, avant-garde Leah (gown by Paloma Blanca)
And one shot to convey the papparazzi-like atmosphere of the sessions:
The Lights Out shoot began with Kitty going over her approach and what inspires her to do this kind of work. Her work is very much about creating a fantasy...but not the cliche, bubblegum-fake Playboy starlet fantasy that currently dominates the boudoir genre. For her the illusion is not about altering reality; rather it is a place for a woman to find herself by becoming something else...by adopting a character (or caricature) and giving herself permission to play.
One of my favorite quotes from Kitty's presentation was, "Put a woman in a costume, and she will act. Put a woman in her underwear, and she will hide." It is because of the fantastical nature of these shoots that she finds the courage to be the beautiful, sexy person that she truly is; free from the limits and expectations that come with being "herself."
I am fascinated by this approach for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it shares a common inspiration with my wedding images. Showing brides how beautiful they are while staying true to who they are is and always has been a huge part of my wedding work. Of course the interplay between fantasy and reality is a huge part of weddings as well, and it is always interesting to see how each couple takes the tradition of the wedding day and makes it their own. I have shot many intimate portraits on request, but it's not something I ever advertised...mainly because I feared that it would be misinterpreted, and might put off some of my more traditional brides. But now that I've found a way to reconcile it, and a language to explain why I do both and what I'm trying to accomplish, I can see that changing. :)
Here are my images from the Lights Out shoot: (mature content ahoy!)
Denise
I love the way the shadow of the camera gives this shot a touch of voyeuristic thrill
Sarah
this shot makes me think of Uma Thurman circa Pulp Fiction for some reason
Kristen
I love that her red velvet shoes are just barely visible here
We also did an Engagement shoot at Flourish. I am very well versed in shooting E sessions, but it was fun to shoot one in a real winter environment for once!
Sam & Lizzie
and with a little extra flavor:
Angela & Luke
If Day 1 of Flourish dealt with all things practical, Day 3 dealt with all things artistic. We covered Photoshop first, specifically how (and why) to retouch images from the Lights Out and similar intimate portraits. Kitty again talked about treading the fine line between the fantastical and the real, and showed us how to do subtle body retouching to smooth imperfections while still retaining the overall natural look of the woman's body. Kim went over her Lightroom workflow for editing and post production. And Angela discussed creative album design.
Speaking of which, I am very excited to debut my new Couture Book line of albums for weddings shot in 2008; these books will offer an alternative to the straightforward flush mount wedding book that is made up solely of images. Each Couture book is the result of an intense collaboration between the photographer (me) and my handpicked professional graphic designer, combining beautiful storytelling images with elements of design, texture, color, and line art, all of which will be influenced by the look and feel of your wedding including invitations, monograms, fonts, decor, colors, flowers, etc. The result is an art book that is entirely your own, reflecting the intrinsic feel of the wedding and the couple themselves, that elevates your wedding story to a work of art. No two books will look anything alike...because no two weddings are entirely alike. More details and images on the new Couture book to come soon...
When all is said and done, the most important thing I took home from Flourish was a sense of how crucial it is as a photographer to be yourself. You can't be all things to all people, so don't even try...instead, find what you truly love to do, what you are good at, and do THAT. Once you do, you'll find yourself loving every aspect of your work...and surrounded by clients who support your vision.
Shoutouts:
Dresses courtesy of Bluegrass Bride
Makeup by Ana Crane-Simpson
Hair by Rodney Farmer, Salon Figaro
Studio lighting and set design by Angela Anderson and husband/cinematographer Gary, Kitty Maer
Kim Reed, Kitty Maer, and Angela Anderson for being so generous with their knowledge
And special thanks to all the women and couples, none of whom are professional models, who gifted us with their time and their permission to post images publicly.
