Knowing how to coordinate colors for a family portrait can be a bit daunting.  There are those old stand-by rules such as "no patterns" and "no bold prints".  Those rules have their place in a traditional portrait.  If you want a family picture that is very traditional in nature, then follow them.  One other rule for traditional portraiture?  No bright colors.

NOW, what if you want something different than traditional? You want something a little hip, funky and fashion forward - then these color suggestions are for you!  These are a few families I've photographed over the past year who really had their eye on color combos.  Enjoy!

Spring is just around the corner and we're celebrating with 1/2 price outdoor family sessions.  

Some "need to know" info...

* April 27th is the day - 9am to 5pm is the time
* You will need to book your session as this is by appointment only
* 4 person maximum (If you have more than 4 in your group, you will need to book 2 sessions)
* $50 gets you a 20-30 minute outdoor session with a complimentary desk print**
* Limited Edition Pricing will be in effect
* Location directions will be e-mailed to you on April 25th
* Please be ready with your credit card when calling to book appointment

I used to wonder this same thing myself... UNTIL I became a business owner / photographer / portrait designer, etc... :)

I thought, "Hey ... I'm crafty, I can design my own walls.  I'll just get a few 8x10's and some 5x7's and arrange them somehow on my walls and it will be fine".  The only problem was, I never did.  I had good intentions, really ... I did ... it just never happened.  The most I ever got done was to "design" an 8x10 storyboard of my three children and hang it between the kitchen and living room.

BUT, I had home interior hanging all over my house!  Literally, it was in the kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms AND living area.  Most of it still is.  Do you know why?  Yes, it cost some money but it was EASY!!!  I saw what I liked (and spent thousands), I bought it, I hung it on the wall.   Easy-peasy! Nothin' to it.  Now I regret it.  

I don't have any portraits of my kids ... they are all either printed out on 4x6's and stored in a box (which is what we did in the OLD days) or they're on a computer that doesn't even work anymore.  To enjoy them, I have to make an effort and set time aside to look at them.  I wish I could enjoy them every day, anytime I want to.  I'm thinking if you're anything like me and you've had a session with a photographer who offered you a disc with no options for prints, you've only printed out a couple for grandma and the rest are sitting on your computer.  Am I right?  Hey - I'm not judging - I got someone I knew to shoot my oldest daughter's senior pictures 5 years ago and give me a disc.  Guess where they are?  I have no idea.  I remember what they looked like, but that computer is long gone and who knows where the disc is?  I feel terrible about it, but starting now that's going to change.

So here we go ... I'm in the same boat YOU are!  I designed a wall for my youngest daughter's room just like I would for any of my clients.  I have measurements, wall color, and size suggestions and I finally settled on a wall design.  I am so excited!  I've already ordered the images AND frames and this will be a reality by tomorrow evening.  Here is the mock-up I designed ...

I have had FUN today!  I woke up to a winter wonderland and immediately decided that I needed to do this shoot I had envisioned months ago.  We had the perfect weather for it -- cool (actually, it was 27 degrees, so it was more like COLD), snowy and windy.  

My inspiration for this session was the video "Over You" by Miranda Lambert.  The imagery was just gorgeous and my youngest daughter is always up for a stylized shoot so we went thrift store shopping back in October for the perfect outfit.  We used a crinoline, a black gauze skirt (pinned up in the front to create kind of a bustle effect) and a "straight out of the 80's" ruffled collar black shirt.  I also thought a corset over the shirt would have been beautiful but I couldn't find one so we criss-crossed a silk cord a few times around her waist.  The only thing new we actually bought was a pair of black lace tights.

So tell me, did we come close?  Pardon the fact that we don't have a white horse or a black parasol -- we had to settle for our big brown dog, Bami and an old lamp I had in the closet! :)

... And for a few out-takes.  The picture below is technically awful -- I saw the moment, grabbed my camera without even looking through the viewfinder and pointed it in their general direction, clicking the shutter as I went.  Even thought I completely cut off the whole top half of my daughter's head, the smile on her face is pure joy - and I love it.  This is truly Kate's personality -- she thinks everything her dog, Bami does is perfection.

And just in case you'd like to see the video that inspired me, here's the link.  (Don't judge me - they are professional videographers - I'm only me! lol)

It's almost that time once again!  Senior Portrait Time!!  To wrap things up for our Class of 2013 Senior Representatives, they have one last task to complete ... to land themselves a  spot on the cover of our upcoming Senior Magazine  ...   and it's up to you to help them.

All you need to do is go here >>> VOTE

You may vote one time.  (Duplicate votes will not be counted)

Now ... go show these beautiful faces some LOVE!

It has definitely been the month for babies around the studio.  Here are a couple of the little ones that I got to snuggle with in February!!  I just think there must be nothing on this earth more peaceful than snuggling a newborn. 

Enjoy!