Mother and Daughter | Alpharetta GA Portrait Photographer

I'm so glad had the opportunity to take some portraits of this mother-daughter pair, long-time friends and some of my very favorite people! We did the shoot in the morning--my favorite time to shoot--by a little pond I like for quick shoots. I love their clothing choices and how the setting and light made for such amazing color.

Mom and Baby Mentoring Session

I have a new passion--mentoring! These are photos from an in-person mentoring session last fall with my very good friend and her sweet daughter. In our session, we both shot and then reviewed our work before moving on to another set of shots. It was a fun way to work, and I could give immediate feedback on how to shoot that particular scene better. Then, we tried again to get better shots. In the process, we covered photo-taking tips such as . . .

Getting close and filling the frame . . .

Using the flash when your background is brighter than your foreground . . .

Shooting from different angles to avoid mergers and busy backgrounds . . .

Framing using available elements in the setting . . .

Working with different levels of exposure . . .

Using uh, props . . .

and taking photos from unexpected perspectives . . .

It was an awesome session! I love how I captured mom taking a photo of baby . . . and the resulting photo from her camera! (Fun color work on her part, don't you think?) And then the feet are just precious. I love feet pics!



For more of this mom's work, visit her blog, Schaer Talents.

Family Candids by an Old Barn

This has got to be one of my fastest "sneak peeks" ever! It's raining today, so I'm stuck inside and that means . . . photo processing! We took these photos on Wednesday night and I had a ball getting these 10 images ready to post today. When it comes to making selections from the many pictures I take during a shoot, I've learned to wait at least a day or so before looking at them. I've found that a little time helps me look at the photos more objectively. Another reason I wait is because (on the day of the shoot) I'm apt to throw out a good picture if it isn't exactly what I was working towards. Just chalk that up to artistic perfectionism. Now though, I'm very pleased. These are some of the best photos I've ever done.

Preparing for this shoot was a bit of work on my part and on the part of the client. The mom of the family is also a photographer and blogger, so we also talked a lot about light, clothing choices, poses, and inspiration from other photographers. That's one of the things I really love about my business: I have the chance to offer a totally personalized photo shoot for each client.

Mom had a good idea of what kind of background she wanted in the photos. At first, she wanted a spot with fall leaves and warm autumn colors. But it's still mostly green here in Alpharetta, so the day before the shoot (yikes!) we changed locations (thanks to a little location scouting on my client's part) and got permission from the owner to shoot next to this fabulous old barn.

It's sometimes hard to strike a balance between a nice posed family shot and a totally candid shot. I find that most clients want something that looks candid, but is not a purely unposed shot. Here, we worked to set up opportunities for candid shots like the black and white walking picture and the second photo where they aren't looking into the lens. (They were smiling at Jacob who did a 360 degree spin for them. How fun!)

Finally, a word about my favorites. The shot of mom and baby (a classic Marchet Butler photo if you've seen the work from my Early Motherhood Project) is one of my favorites. I love lens flare shots, but haven't had a lot of experience creating them. Then, there is the black and white photo of Dad and the boys checking out the tools and gadgets inside the barn. (I could tell Dad is a pro at getting kids in position for a picture.) Finally, I love how the colors just "pop" on the color photos. That red barn is certainly an eye-catcher, and the kids and parents really stand out, not to mention that romantic dip! Enjoy these, guys. No need to have worried, we had a great time, and it looks like you did too!

Playtime: Child and Mom photo shoot

This darling three-year-old boy and his mom wanted some pictures together and some portraits for the little guy's fourth birthday coming up soon! We decided to stay close to home and got some fabulous pictures just 5 minutes from their home on the Alpharetta Greenway and the little park by the YMCA. I had such a hard time picking which photos to post, they turned out so well! I love the ones of the little guy on the slide: the depth of field is great, the color is beautiful, and the expression is priceless. But I'm also really charmed by the last image. (Jeans look so good in black and white.) His mom told him to "Hug your Thomas!" (He's a big Thomas the Tank Engine fan.) Snap! snap! we got it.

There's a trick to getting a young child to smile for the camera, especially after the novelty of picture-taking has worn off (which in the case of most children is about 5 minutes into the shoot). Here are some of my tried-and-true methods. First of all, know the child's name. I make sure to memorize all of my clients' and models' names before the shoot. Second, explain to adults and other children there that it is your job to make the child smile, not theirs. When I do posed shots, I have to tell parents and siblings not to look down at the baby (or toddler) when I am trying to get their attention. It's so hard for them not to look, but it really works. If you are doing portraits of a child alone, you can ask the parent to help you catch the child's attention, but they need to stand directly behind the camera so that the child's eyes are directed towards the lens. Also, choose a location that has play equipment or something the child can explore while you are shooting. Bring a toy, a rattle, puppet, or other attention-getter to wave in front of the child or let him or her play with while you shoot. Play peek-a-boo. Make funny faces, sounds, and expressions. And most of all, have fun! Children love to play, so make the photo shoot a playtime and you'll have the same problem I do: too many cute pictures to choose from!

Finishing the Early Motherhood Project

Yesterday’s photo shoot marked the end of my Early Motherhood Project. This model and her baby girl were one of the first to sign up for the project, but because of bad weather, sickness, graduation (congrats to my model!), and scheduling conflicts, we almost didn’t get together for the shoot. I’m glad it finally worked out!

It’s a relief to be finished. It’s been a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. What started out as a germ of an idea has blossomed into a great adventure for me as a photographer. I’ve met so many wonderful moms and their families, made friends and contacts for future shoots, and put my photography skills to the test.

Meanwhile, I’m taking bookings for regular photo shoots: families, couples, individuals, and (yes!) mom and baby shoots. Please visit my Pricing Page for more information. And it’s full speed ahead for my next TFCD Modeling project: I have spots available on June 16th, 26th, and 27th. Lots of dates in July are also available. If you live in the Roswell or Alpharetta area (or can travel here for a shoot), please contact me to have your school-age kids model for my Kids and Teen Photo Project.

Summer Portraits

With summer approaching, the colors and light outside have become more vivid and bright. That's great for my Nikon camera, which captures colors so well as long as I white balance before each shoot. But the brightness is sometimes hard to get around. To avoid squinting eyes and harsh shadows, I look for shady spots to take photos. These photos were taken at the model's home in her front and back yard. The trees and the house provided enough cover from the sun, and the ivy, lattice fence, and brick made lovely backgrounds.

This time, I concentrated on getting portrait shots of each model. The girls were pretty easy to capture. At first, the oldest played and posed readily for me. Even when she got a little stubborn about having her picture taken, she looked great on camera (see the close-up black and white photo). The baby was an easy-going calm one. She was just about happy with anything I did to get a good picture. Lastly, I wanted to give mom a nice portrait of herself. When the light hit her brown eyes just right, I took several shots of her alone. It's great to have pictures of you and your children, but sometimes it's nice when you are the star of the photo alone.

This is the second-to-last photo shoot from my Early Motherhood Project. I have one more mom and baby pair to shoot, and then I am officially done with this project . . . at least the photography part. I would like to have some of my work from this project published and am looking into that possibility.

Born Traveler

This little lady is a born traveler: Fredricksburg, Rio, and most recently, Paris! She's definitely the most well-traveled baby I know. Check out their family's blog for more on this little globe-trotter. We wanted to make sure to capture this gal's Eiffel Tower necklace and Paris-themed dress, since her American birthday party will have a Paris theme. (She turned one last month in France.) I was also really pleased with some of the last photos from the session. I love the little rim of light outlining the mom and her baby girl.

On another note, you may want to check out Poor Martin's Almanac, where J. D. Jordan posted some additional photos of his wife and baby from my Early Motherhood Project. I can't post all the photos from each shoot, so it's nice to have others do it on their blog.