After wearing their own outfits, we got them changed into some more vintage inspired clothing from my prop closet.

Doesn’t she look so sweet?

Her little brother was so cute and looked just adorable in the seersucker romper.

This is one has to be my favorite, the antique chair and their vintage clothes, with the black and white conversion, just lends this image such a timeless feel.

And here it is in color, which I also love.

‘K’, thank you so much for bringing your adorable children,  I had a wonderful time with them.

“A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.”

- Marion C. Garretty

I am a little behind on my editing and blogging, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to introduce to you these beautiful sisters who came for a garden photo session a few weeks ago. This is the best time of the year for an outdoor photo session, before the hot weather starts drying out all the beautiful plants and flowers, and the green turns yellowish and flat. The garden in Tooele is beautiful and I always make sure it’s reserved exclusively for each session.

You will see how they all have such gorgeous dark eyes and hair, and although similar, each of them is so unique. They also loved the petti skirts that I brought for them to wear, and they modeled them so well.

First up is a sweet little Briela. She was quiet and shy, but still so good about sitting for me.

And this is Liliana, who loved to play with her sisters and twirl around in the petti skirts. She definitely knew which petti skirt she liked best.

Next up is Adalia,  who can be so spunky and totally sweet at the same time.

And big sister is Celeste, poised and calm and taking it all in:

Thank you, ‘L’, for bringing your beautiful daughters to me. It was so great meeting you all!

This is just a quick sneak peek for mom, will have more soon! ‘K’, thanks for making the drive, it was great meeting your little family!

As soon as we arrived and had them remove their shoes, they took off running in all directions! The older one was easier to bring back with the old bribes but the little one was quite impossible to reason with. He kept screaming ‘Done!’ but I wasn’t. I almost gave up and packed everything.

I remembered the bubbles and handed them over to my 4 year old. After a few minutes, the younger one saw all the attention and decided to join him. I just sat down and waited for the right moment.

I’m so in love with it, I’m blowing it up big!

“… and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day,
listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky,
is by no means a waste of time”
- John Lubbock

It was a fun outdoor session, the weather was really nice,  even though we all got bitten by bugs. The location had lots of great variety, and it was fun to explore it We tried all sorts of new things and even Mom and Dad got in some with the children.

Mom and Dad, thanks so much for making the drive! Enjoy this sneak peek while I finish the rest of your gallery.

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving.
What you have caught on film is captured forever… it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.”
~ Aaron Siskind

This is Rose, who turned 11 years old earlier this month.

We finally had some time to go out to my favorite place and have a mini session in the evening. The weather has been very unstable, but we were graced with gorgeous light that day and I was very happy to get some beautiful captures.

It had been quite some time since I had had an outdoor session and I had really missed it. There is something quite tangible in the way that all the elements come together, the light and the sun, the environment and how it all relates with subject. To see the resulting images and the emotion and personality that was captured is a gift for the memory and the heart.

But enough rambling and on to some more images!

As much as I like color, I had to sneak some black & white ones, since there was so much richness in light and textures.

And, of course, I always love close-ups, the eyes are the most expressive:

She resisted but, at last, I got a genuine smile:

This next one is one of my favorites from the session, but I can’t decide between color and black&white:

And this one just makes me happy:

Her expression, the soft evening light and the beautiful surroundings all come together to make a gorgeous portrait.

Here’s hoping to more warm weather, beautiful locations and gorgeous models!

This is my favorite from her session- ♥!

And look at these eyelashes, crazy long!

Yep, she’s just this gorgeous!

Do you see her little feet in the back? And I like how her hands look in this one, almost in the same position.

Addison, it was my pleasure photographing you! Thank you for bringing her by, ‘J’.

This little dress was made out of an antique pillowcase.  The bows can be changed out which gives endless possibilities- here I chose to use orange to coordinate with the flower headband.

And while the color images are a feast to the eyes, the black and white ones are full of soul and timeless feeling. Love her expression in this one.

Thanks, ‘J’, for bringing out your little Addison. Hope you enjoy these while I work on the rest of the session.

We started the session with a little girl not too sure of what was going on. She is so adorable that even a pout looks good on her.

But we also got a few smiles:
This is just a little sneak peek- more to come soon.

I hear this question a lot from clients and I have to confess that is the first thing I think about when I plan a photo session with my kids. For me, as an artist, the vision of the portrait as a whole means more than just the subject-  the location, the light, and the clothes all make or break an image [today I will discuss clothing; I will talk about location and time of day at another time]. Custom photography is an investment on all counts- taking the time to plan the details will be more rewarding and worth the hassle of finding the perfect outfit.

Here are some general considerations:

- Clothing is very important as it sets the mood and style of your photos- do you want classic, or modern? Trendy or timeless? My goal is to turn your photos into timeless pieces of art, and clothing is a medium that will help achieve the desired effect. I may ask to go in your child’s closet to see what outfits will work better for your photo session. Upon request, I will do a  clothing/styling consultation  at no charge or recommend a clothing store for the particular style you wish to achieve. In fact, if you visit this page here on What to Wear, you can see a list of clothing outfitters for children that you can browse and get ideas for your session. I guarantee you that you can’t go wrong with any of these, there is something for every occasion, taste and even wallet!

First, let’s think of the little ones.  Newborns and young babies are best photographed in their birthday suit or with a diaper cover.  I think you will agree with me that the innocence and beauty of a new baby is best portrayed without clothing:

Sometimes, a favorite blanket or special toy will add personal touch and make your photo more unique, like this one where the blanket was made by this baby’s grandmother:

-For older babies and children, I recommend simple clothes with classic style, with solid colors and natural textures. Accessories, like hats and scarves, add dimension and interest to any outfit. I also prefer babies down to a diaper cover and I have an assortment of those to choose from:

- Think of comfort- if your child doesn’t like the outfit and isn’t comfortable in it, it’s better to choose something else. Try to choose something that represents the child, but no ripped and tattered clothing, please, that never works well.

- A good rule is to avoid screaming colors, busy patterns and logos as these detract from the subject.  Character clothing is also not recommended unless it is for a particular theme (your little boy likes to be a superhero? Bring on the SuperMan cape, it will work for a few images after an outfit change).

- I also have available a small collection of tutus and petti skirts for little girls, along with some fun accessories, like hats, flowers and headbands:

- for little boys,  I love the timeless look of denim overalls, as you already saw from another blog post this week :

- A word about hair styles for girls- simple and natural are always more flattering, especially for babies and younger girls. It’s usually better to avoid complicated pony tails and other up-dos. For older girls, hats and headbands are always fun.

And here’s an example from last year, when I took my daughter for a very quick mini session:

This was at the end of the day, and the light was soft and warm. I knew I wanted her to wear something that would convey that same sense, and I didn’t want the pieces of clothing to compete with each other or with her for attention.

After looking through her closet, we found some things that worked- her skirt is actually a dress from Old Navy, we just pulled it down and hid the straps; her pink top is a leotard, leftover from her ballet lessons days; the cropped jacket is a soft knit, a find from Target, almost in the same cream tone as the skirt. All of which  she already owned, we just had to think out of the box for a new look. We finished the outfit with a few beaded necklaces in white and pink tones (always have a few of those around anyways), a soft headband and a pink flower to hold her hair back. All in all, mission accomplished for an impromptu mini session on a saturday evening at the end of Summer.

And don’t forget the chap stick or lip gloss- dry lips are very unattractive and quite impossible to fix in Photoshop!