Camellia + John Paul : Children’s Portrait Session
These littles are very dear to my heart. They just so happen to be my niece and nephew who live just far enough away to make taking photos a little hard to coordinate with school and work schedules. Needless to say, I was thrilled to finally have them back in my studio for some fun portraits documenting their ages (4 & 7).
The outfits their mama dressed them in were adorable and classic and so fitting for their ages. Camellia loves the camera and strutted her stuff like a girl who has seen a few episodes of America’s Next Top Model. Such a honey.
And JP, he’s golden. He really is. My parents get to spend lots of time with them since they live right next door and they never have a bad word to say about either of them. Gotta love grandparents.
I hope you love these images as much as I do… well, maybe that’s asking a lot if you’re not also related to them, but leave me a comment below and let me know which picture is your favorite!
Enjoy!
Becca
Baby Gabriel : 6 Month Old Baby Portraits
Little Gabriel is back again, for his six month session on my baby plan.
The baby plan features three sessions the first year. One newborn session (ideally within 10 days of birth), a sitting up session (around 6-8 months of age) and a birthday session. These three sessions give new parents a wonderful variety of images to document their child’s first year in portraits. I have been recommending just three sessions for the baby plan for several years now because the older method of 3, 6, 9, 12 months just got to be too much for most parents… (especially when newborn photography gained popularity).
Some people were trying to fit 5 sessions into a year… which just gets to be too much work for the parents… every time they turned around, they were needing to find outfits, set up appointments, decide on their order, pick it up… YIKES! It was too much of a good thing… they didn’t even have time to enjoy the order they received before they were planning for the next session.
The three session plan is perfect! At first it might not seem like enough because you are so enraptured with your newborn and it seems like they change sooo fast… (I’ve almost been tempted to add one more session in there.) But I love the dramatic difference in the portraits… little sleepy baby, cute chubby sitting, (maybe crawling?) baby, and standing, (possibly walking) baby.
The parents are able to enjoy each order for a few months before they even need to think about scheduling the next appointment. They are also able to invest more in each session because their budget isn’t being spread so thin… so they’re able to create wall groupings, collages, or even get that big canvas gallery wrap they’ve been eyeing!
But let’s get back to sweet little Gabriel, shall we???
His parents had lots of outfits for him to wear, and we started off with a little boy classic… a simple polo and shorts. No shoes or socks here! We want to show off those cute little toes!
I had to work for the first few smiles we squeezed out of him… Apparently, Gabe is a big daddy’s boy and he ONLY bursts out the big grins for him. After Daddy arrived, it was much easier! I was laughing so hard at the silly sounds his dad was making that it was hard to hold the camera steady!
I can’t tell you how much fun it is to see a parent get so involved in the photo session. Some photographers are kind of snobs about letting the parents be involved. I’m all for parent involvement. I don’t mind if the parents just want to go in the gallery area and take it easy, but if they want to stay in back and get on their knees with me.
After the first outfit, we did some sweet bare baby portraits with a little elephant shaped piano his parents brought for him to play with. His daddy is a great pianist/organist and so it was very significant.
I love adding special touches into your portraits that make them even more personal and tell a little part of the story of your life. Little Gabe loved banging on his piano, and some of the images captured even make it look like he already knows how to play it.
Other outfits included showcasing their love for their favorite sports teams, the Twins and the Vikings. Lucky little Gabe has already been to Target field for a game!
Well, I best get back to work.
I’ve ordered some postcards to advertise for senior portraits this summer and I’d best get my labels ready!
Enjoy!
Rebecca
P.S. If you want to see Gabe’s newborn session, click here.
Anne : Clear Lake High School : Senior Portrait Session
This session is from last fall, but I just got so far behind on my posts and I still wanted to showcase this lovely senior because she is so photogenic!
Anne’s senior portrait session was the one that included both indoor studio portraits and outdoor, on-location portraits as well.
I love these sessions because I can really customize the backdrops to fit the outfit… and also find the locations with perfect lighting! Anything can look good if the lighting is right!!! (Just my $0.02 for you)
After the fun indoor shots showcasing her unique activities like playing the tuba in her high school band, and drama with the Stebens Children’s Theatre we were ready to head out for some cool outdoor images.
Anne had couple fun hats she wanted to wear with some of her outfits, so for the furry mad-bomber hat, I decided the railroad tracks would be perfect. I know, I know some people think the RR track pictures are overdone, but I’m with her and her mom on this one. The image is just so symbolic of young adulthood, and this being just the beginning of their life journey.
Call me a hopeless romantic.
Oh, and the ones in her prom dress by the water… those remind me of some kind of fairy tale… like The Princess and the Frog or The Swan Princess. I just love it!
Anyhow, that’s enough out of me for today!
Enjoy!
Becca
Carys : Two Year Old Portrait Session
The little cherub was back from D.C. again. Visiting Grandma! She’s as cute as ever, but not quite the little chunk she used to be. 🙂 Remember those cute rolls she had? Not so much, anymore. Oh well! Babies grow up. 😦 It’s the truth. It’s a good thing because that means they are healthy, but it’s also bittersweet because we will miss that sweet innocence that fades with age. That’s why it’s so important to take lots of pictures that first year and then keep taking professional portraits once a year after that. (Even after they start school and they get that BORING school portrait…ugh. What does that say about WHO they ARE???) … sorry! off my soapbox. 😉
This family has been awesome, diligently visiting the studio three times during Cary’s first year and once a year after that. Luckily, they are expecting another baby so I will be getting to start the process all over again! YAY!
Check out Miss Cary’s images. We only did two outfits this session. It’s usually not feasible to do much more than that with a two year old. They are just wanting to go, go, go… and they don’t quite take directions (that well) yet.
These are usually my most high-energy sessions. I’m using my creative brain-power as fast as I can to figure out what background and props will work best as far as looks, and function goes… I’m constantly moving things in and out, trying to find what holds their interest. Because I know my window of opportunity with a two year old is very short.
Carys took a liking to a little American flag I had lying around (unfortunately it didn’t coordinate with her outfit, but in b&w it works!)
Once we weaseled that away, I managed to get a few more without it before we decided to switch over to her favorite outfit.
They are big Giants fans, if it wasn’t already obvious. 😉 I love the way the blue looks with her eyes and I had the perfect football for her to play with.
Daddy got in on these images, especially since this is the first time he’d been to the studio… we had to capture some professional daddy and me portraits.
I think these would work awesome in one of my multi-image collages.
Enjoy!
Becca
Lila : Austin High School : Senior Session
Just wanted to take a minute today to share a quick session I did for a senior from Austin, MN that was trying to take just a few portraits for an image for the yearbook before the deadline hit.
I get a kick out of these girls that come to take these kind of sessions, you know they are dying to do a full-blown session because of all the clothes they bring! LOL! I always throw in an extra outfit for fun, just because that’s more my style, anyway.
… and those are always my favorites… remember the last post and I loved Paige’s third outfit… well, I’m lovin’ Lila’s hot pink shirt. So simple, yet, looks amazing! LOVE IT!
Enjoy!
Becca
P.S. Keep checking back! Next up, TWO newborn sessions!!! I know you love those babies!
Paige : Senior Session : Albert Lea High School
“There’s a lot of pretty girls in this city, there’s a lot of pretty girls in this town…” Love that song! I just started thinking of it when I began this post because I have had so many beautiful girls from Albert Lea, MN this year! Must be something in the water, as they say.
Lovely Miss Paige here is no exception to the rule. She is simply gorgeous without trying very hard. I couldn’t hardly tell if she had makeup on, she just radiates a natural beauty.
I’ve known Paige and her sister for a while now… ever since I discovered their little boutique in the upstairs of their parent’s furniture store, Brick Furniture.
I was there looking for a mattress for Collin’s big boy bed and I had to just browse around at all the eye candy they have. (I love how they arrange their store, and their window displays always, ALWAYS, catch my eye because Kari picks out some great items.)
Anyhow… in the store there is a loft, they call BG Loft (Brick Girls), where they created a shopping area full of great tops, dresses, scarves, jewelry, and belts that I go ga-ga for every time I visit. They carry a limited supply of each item, which I really like because then you know you’re not going to run into a lot of people with the same thing. (What can I say, I like to be unique!)
But, back to the portraits….
I have so many great options for Paige to use for her yearbook, which was the main focus of the session.
Her mom encouraged her to choose some classic sweaters and then after that, she did a more fun, ivory top. And I have to say, those are my favorites, but I love them all!
Enjoy!
Becca
Rebecca Lynne Photography : Northern Iowa and Southern Minnesota's Best Photographer! 