I'm looking for advice from the blogging world. Up to now DH and I have been photographing Cameron with our nifty Canon. It definitely takes good pictures and videos but I have yet to really use it's full range.
While I love taking my own pictures of the family I have realized that I am no real photographer and probably don't have the patience to become one. Plus I do most of the photographing so there aren't that many pictures of us as a family or even just me and Cameron. I'm thinking about having more "formal" pictures done. When I say formal I'm not necessarily thinking about Sears-type sessions (although I'd love to hear what people thought about their experiences there) but more like an at-home session. In particular I would like to get some more artistic shots and not just the standard "here's Cameron!" pictures I seem to always take.
And every single shot of Cameron from her most recent school pictures shows her looking so serious. I want to showcase my happy (when not teething) munchkin! I didn't even bother ordering photos from her school shoot this year. 3 poses against a fake garden backdrop? Meh.
So what has your experience been in getting good photos? Is going to a portrait studio a good idea? How about those of you who did in home or location shoots?
Hey, It's Okay
2 days ago
7 comments:
Don't go for the studio shots. If you do an in-home or on-location photo shoot, you'll get more candid photographs of whatever Cameron happens to be doing. My personal favorites are always outdoors, wherever. Anywhere a child can explore her surroundings is a great place to get gorgeous, natural looking photographs that don't look like you sat her on the couch and told her to smile.
We are going to be using BlueSky photography for Holden's 1 year photos. Outdoor shots. I'll let you know how it goes.
I went through the in mall picture people and have some great posed shots. They even put the boys picture up in their stores at one point!
We have done every kind of photo shoot you can imagine.
We've done the cheap Portrait Innovations route. I've liked that best of all the cheap studio routes. They have one person to entertain the kids, one person to take pics. The family shot was crap though.
We've done the uber nice studio route. Those photos turned out awesome but it was the most expensive option. Here's where we've gone so you get an idea what they look like:
carilongphotography.com
We've also done in home and on location. Personally I like those best because I like documentary style pictures and there's less pressure to perform at a particular moment. Generally the photographer has been there for at least an hour and lets the kids do whatever they want. We haven't done it lately because I can do it myself now! But the elusive family shot is tough to get.
I would say to look for websites that have pictures you like. And email me if you have questions!
I saw your blog post. Perhaps some day we will grow and do business in NC. Our school pictures are very different than your typical school picture. We have schools in NYC, Boston, and Los
Angeles.
I think Studio can be amazing if done well. We shoot Open Studios for our private clients and the images we get are wonderful. But, most studio that specialize in kid and families are cheesy. If you go that direction go for a solid color maybe even white and try letting your children dress and act like kids. And, let the photographer do the directing. Take a back seat as a parent and just wrangle and follow instructions. This advice goes for any shoot actually. And, of course, have a sense of humor. Even if it doesn't seem to you to be going well, it may very well be.
Here are some local photogs that have good work. I really don't like these Flash sites with music. They take so long to load and navigate and does anyone like music on a website? But, I think you are going to find that you are in an area with some good photographers. Best of luck. Tell me what you do and how it goes.
http://www.catherinekeene.com
http://www.beccabondphotography.com
http://www.naninephoto.com/ (like her together shots)
We had an in-home session and really liked it, mostly because I was less worried about the kids behavior. It was a friend of the family, so if the kids got fussy, we could pause for a second, give them a snack, whatever and then pick back up again. I'd hate to spend money at a studio and have my kid(s) meltdown and lose our spot. That being said, I know plenty of people who have had great luck at the mall photo place.
Last year for my bday Geoff found a photographer on craigslist who was hoping to build an online portfolio. She came to our condo/neighborhood and took photos for free! She sent us a CD of high quality digital files and I just had them printed using an online service. Just a thought.....the photos are up on facebook if you want to get ideas.
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