Planning for Fall Family Photos | Lincoln Nebraska Photographer

Fall Portrait Guide

Planning the perfect family session doesn't have to be stressful, Here are a few hints to making your session perfect!

MAKE THE SESSION ABOUT YOU:  If you have amazing Ideas - let me hear them!  If you don't, we will chat about your families interests, your personalities, your likes, your dislikes.  We mix and match until we find exactly what works for you, and have this all planned before the day of your session.  On session day, we are then able to relax and have fun, letting true happiness (vs. forced smiles!) show in your portraits.

MAKE THE TIME COUNT:  Especially with little ones, the time slot you chose should be a time that everyone is happy.  If you know your little mr. or ms. will need a nap - allow an hour before or an hour after normal nap time.  This can help insure we will find a time that they are interactive and playful.  I also suggest avoiding the late morning/early afternoon time period.  The sun is harsh,  there are bright spots and heavy shadows, and the dreaded squinty eyes are inevitable during these hours (unless there are areas of open shade).  I try to plan the majority of my sessions for early morning, or late afternoon.  At these times, you get warm, golden light that makes everyone look beautiful.  Plan for a minimum of one hour to photograph your family.  Of course, this will vary by family size and cooperation.  I stay until I know I have (more than) enough images to wow you with.

MAKE YOURSELF COMFORTABLE:  Whatever you choose to wear, make sure you are comfortable and feel beautiful.  When you feel great, your bound to have fabulous pictures!  I suggest darker, richer colors.  Greens, Maroon and Navy always look beautiful with orange leaves and golden light.  Boots, Sweaters and Scarves all add layers and pops of color, adding interest to your photos.  I always suggest coordinating outfits through the family, but not matching exactly.  Need a few ideas?  Here’s a link to my Pinterest Board for outfit inspiration!

LASTLY - MAKE YOUR APPOINTMENT EARLY : Fall portraits always fill fast. :)
  

A few weeks left!

This gorgeous mommy to be is 3 short weeks away from meeting her baby girl.  I have had the honor of photographing her a few times along her mommy-hood journey and she just gets more and more beautiful!

 

 

She recently moved to her new country home which gave us some AMAZING views!

 I always know it will be a great session when I have to take a gravel road to get to the client's home....but it makes me miss being back home on the farm.

 

 

 

And this little girl is going to have a great daddy too!  Their love for each other, as well as their baby girl is evident!

 

 

I love that this momma (even at 9 months pregnant!) had no problem hiking up her boots to make a walk through the tall grass around a pond and laid in a wheat field. 

 

 

And she even pushed her bedtime back a bit to catch a beautiful sunset.  Loved this session!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Doty Boys

These kiddos Mama used to work with me at a previous employer before my dream job and we soon learned that our husbands work for the same company too! 

 

 

They recently made a move and I got to photograph these cute little guys in their beautiful new home.  The minute I walked in I got an instant hug from the oldest, Grayson. 

 

He was my little buddy through the whole shoot... 

            ...even assisted in setting up my lighting - very helpful! :)

 

 

 

 

 

His little brother has the biggest eyes and the cutest faces ... and he was constantly on the move!  Such a fun family to photograph!

These are a few of my favorite things.... (Part 1)

This is the first of a series of posts I will be writing to introduce you to some of the newest (and most amazing!) products that we are offering. 

 

First Up : Books!

Mini Accordian books.  These little guys are quite possibly the coolest thing ever.  Perfect for Moms, Grandmas, Aunts (anyone!) who likes to brag about their beautiful babies.  They come in two sizes - wallet size and a 3x3 square and can have a leather, fabric or custom photo cover.

 

 

Pictured is the 3x3 square with a photo cover.  All books are custom, one of a kind designs and hold all of your favorites from your most recent session or multiple sessions!

They are magnetic.  Perfect for sticking to your refrigerator, the filing cabinet at work or sticking multiple sessions together to have all of your family photos in one spot!

 

They are also the perfect size for a purse or diaper bag to show off your loved ones while you are on the go.  And if your purse or bag looks anything like mine - you will appreciate that they all come with a plastic slipcover to protect them!

 

 

 

Looking for something a little bigger? 

 

 

These coffee table books come in multiple sizes and styles and are perfect to show off all of your images from your latest session.  Pictured here is an 8x8 press printed book with a photo cover. 

 

 

Each book is custom designed with beautiful one of a kind spreads. 

 

Their best feature: lay-flat pages!  Everyone hates when you are looking through a book and the arch hides the pages' content.  This book gives you the whole picture on all 20+ pages!

 

 

These are two samples of the amazing book line.  There are so many options and colors and designs to chose - I guarantee you will LOVE them!

 

 

 

Coming Soon : My Favorite Things (Part 2)

 

Live your life, document yourself living!

One of the reasons that I started this company was because of my grandmother's old photo albums.  The emotions you feel when looking back at memories of the people that you love is unmatched (topped only by living them first hand!)  It's amazing to see how your son looks just like his grandfather did, how grandma's pants are now back in style or how the love of two people can fill a photo album with so many brand new faces. 

That being said - I have hundreds of pictures of my children on my computer hard drives and in frames on my walls.  About 50% of them include my husband.  49% are of my children by themselves.  Which leaves maybe 1% that include me...maybe.  Why?  Everyone wants pictures with their hair perfect, gorgeous makeup and skinnier than highschool - but is that realistic?  When my children look back on photos of me are they going to say - 'Wow, wish mom would have lost those 20 lbs before those family photos'?  (I sure as heck hope not, or else I am making even bigger mistakes in parenting than I thought!)  They aren't going to care that I needed a haircut, or that I was missing eyeliner - but they will notice if I am missing completely.   

So here it is - my challenge to myself (Please join with me!)  to forget the makeup, forget the hair, forget the weight.  To make myself visible in an album for my grandchildren and great grandchildren to look through.  And an added bonus - when I get old, gray and my mind gets (even more!) hazy, I will rely on these images to help pull me back to today and yesterday.  To remember what it felt like to hold my grown babies for the first time or a day at the park or the zoo - or just plain being together in the living room. 

Live your life, document yourself living.  Let people know that you were here.


Leaving here with my favorite quote from the great Ansel Adams.  "When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs.  When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence."

 

Baby Kylar and the Kramers

Every time I view a set of images for the first time after a session, my heart races with excitement.  I anticipate the client's first viewing and wonder if they will love the same ones I do.  But every now and then I come across 'the image'.  The one image from the whole session that the second I see it, the tears start pouring.  In that moment, I realize that all of the late night studying, the cost of equipment, all the hours spent practicing, the sacrifices we've made and my hard work has truly paid off.  Not only because I have a great image to share in my portfolio, not because I feel I will have a great sale, but because I know without a doubt that my client will love the image as much as I do and cherish the photo for many years to come.  This is 'the image' from my last session.  I cannot wait to see it as a 16x20 on my client's wall.  A beautiful image of a beautiful family.

Two Pretty Girls in Boots

You guys may or may not know that I grew up on a farm in a small little town in SE Nebraska.  I have been living in 'the big city' (as most of my family calls it) for almost 9 years now.  I would be lying if I said I haven't missed it every.single.day!  There is something about the quiet simplicity that you don't get when you live near the Capitol City.  So, you can imagine when I get asked by a beautiful young Mama to do a session 'back home' with old barns, rustic fences and cowboy boots that my heart immediately screamed YES!  And I am so glad it did - absolutely gorgeous!

These two are obviously not just mother and daughter, it's clear they are also best friends.  This next one is quite possibly my favorite, but there were so many to choose from!

Tiny Fingers, Tiny Toes..

At one month old, this little guy almost convinced me I wanted my house filled with the newborn smell again...ALMOST.   For now I will stick with a baby powder scented candle and enjoy editing the rest of Mr. B's set!  What do you guys think - do these images give you baby fever?

Happy 1st Birthday!

I did it!
I made it through my first year of business with more clients than I started and a few extra dollars in my pocket. I didn't want this post to turn into an acceptance speech, thanking everyone who has ever helped me get here...but I do need to shout out a few words of thanks to my family. First off - my parents, Thank you for promising to bail me out if this 'little business' of mine didn't pan out and for letting me use your beautiful land as my backdrop on more than one occasion. To my sisters who either let me practice on them or let me practice on their children - Thank you for putting up with my 'really cool ideas' that may or may not have been 'really cool ideas'. I have grown so much over the last few years because of you (and not just in photography!) To my own children who were in front of my camera more often than they probably wanted to be - thank you and your tiny little beautiful faces, you will forever be my little models. But most of all, to my husband. I literally would not be writing this post without you. You not only believed in my dream of being a photographer, You made me believe in myself. You continually make me question and improve myself as a photographer and as a person...And the 8 years of photography related birthday and christmas presents didn't hurt either! As Always, a HUGE thanks goes out to every single one of my clients who have either been a friend or turned into one. This little venture has brought so many amazing people into my life - I am forever grateful.

Surprise! It's A Girl!

Even more surprising, I kept it a secret!
What a fun night, the cutest decorations, yummy food and a great group of people.
I believe mom and dad were surprised, what do you think?

It's A....

SECRET!
One of my amazing clients has entrusted me with the gender of her baby..before she even knows what it is. How cool is that? This last weekend, we did a fun gender reveal session for a boy and a girl...She picked her favorite from both sessions and I have some fun images ready to go for her gender reveal party!  Check these out:

My trip to the Capitol Building

Ok - So I am only slightly embarrassed to admit that it has been 15 years since I have visited my state capitol building. The building is full of history, beauty...and the TINIEST elevators. Do you know what is worse than getting stuck in an elevator? Getting stuck in a tiny elevator full of strangers. So, you can imagine my terror when the buzzer sounded and the 'overloaded' light started flashing. Thankfully the doors opened and we were able to take the stairs the rest of the way down.  I think the near death experience was worth it. Take a look at his images!