Photorange Blog

…10 tips on a tuesday…

Anjuli — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 08:24:35 +0000

she was one of the friends i visited on my vacation last week. we had an impromptu family portrait session. literally we saw a cute brick wall, pulled over, and corralled all four kids. i LOVED the spontaneity of this session. i thought it would be a perfect session to give you photographers and moms, wanting to take better pictures of their kids, a few tips on how i approach portraits.

okay, here we go…

10. keep it real. really real. i always tell clients to wear what you always wear. let the kids pick their favorite shirt, dress, whatever. i look at portraits like this… i want to capture the family, at this stage in life, as it is. i want clients to look back on their portraits in 10 years and remember the quirkiness of their kids.

9. let the kids have control. what?!! yes, give kids control… or at least let them think they have control. if your clients kids are anything like mine, they don’t like getting their picture taken. probably because they don’t like being strapped down, having a big black lens staring at them, and being forced to smile. who would like that?? when i take family portraits i let the kids make the rules. for example, i let each kid pick another member of the family that they want to take pictures with. and once the kids get warmed up, i make little suggestions about who they might want to include, “wanna see if daddy is stronger than you are?”

8. get the little things. hands, toes, the little things that change with time. what are the unique things about this family that stand out? (example. every kid in this family sucks their thumb) discover the little things and capture them.

7. it doesn’t always have to be a smile. lots of times it is those faces.. the tilt of the head, the squint in their eyes, the wrinkle in their nose, that says more than a smile could ever say. i bet Maile makes this face at least 8-18 times a day. she is saying something with her eyes that only mom and dad can interpret. i love her little sass. find those faces and capture them.

6. have fun. when i do family portraits, i always make it about playing. i play with the kids. i get the parents to play with their kids. it is about playing. kids love to play… well who doesn’t love to play? boys love to jump, girls love to twirl, and they both love to play games. make taking pictures a game. and if you, the photographer can play, the family will follow.

5. be creative. it will be a challenge with big families to get everyone in the picture at once. so find creative ways to capture the kids when they don’t know it. this is the best way to capture them truly being themselves. notice mommy, rissa, holding Dylan in the reflection.

4. multi- tasking. add people, take away people. have them jump, spin, dance. kids have a short, mind you SHORT, attention span. the more you keep the session moving, the better pictures you will get. with kids you don’t have time to wait for the lighting to be perfect, change lenses (i almost always use one lens, canon 50 1.4), or pose a picture. you gotta be fast. you gotta be quick. trust me, the kids aren’t interested in waiting for you to figure out your camera settings.

3. space. i love when a family is smashed together. i love the energy. i love when hands, arms, and fingers are all over each other. to me this screams, “we LOVE each other!!” get the family up close and personal. have them hug, tickle, and squeeze each other.

2. get tall. i love shooting kids when i am above them. i love how open their eyes get. it gives them a sense of wonder.

1. i always. ALWAYS. steal the mom and dad for a mini-session. they love it. come on, they are parents. no one has taken a real picture of them since their wedding day.

(and there is always one kid clinging to mom’s leg at this point of the session)

thanks for being beautiful models poling family!

hope these tips help you take more beautiful pictures.

i’d love to hear from you and any tips you have up your sleeve.

…baby damien…

Anjuli — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:41:15 +0000

the doctor said he could never have kids. after his brain tumor was removed, the doctor said it could never be done.

but he did. he had a baby.

a little miracle baby.

…monica & pieter…

Anjuli — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:49:24 +0000

a little preview.

…orange wednesday…

Anjuli — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:52:59 +0000

vacation.

the wows (not sure if this is a real word, but now it is) and woes of our vacation.

the wows

manoah: loved all 20-some hours of the drive. thank you mr. dvd player for parenting my son.

san luis obispo: quite possibly my favorite place on the planet

firestone: quite possibly my favorite restaurant on the planet

friends: visiting quite possibly some of my favorite people on the planet

sleeping: 2 nights of 11 hours of straight sleep. special thanks to the extra dark hotel curtains. i love you pismo beach hotel.

sam: unpacked the car, took out the seats, vacuumed, scrubbed, and washed the mini-van (love him!)

the woes

baby samuel: not a fan of the car. lots of screaming. lots of tears. did i already say screaming? lots of it.

san luis obispo: that i don’t live there.

firestone: got my husband sick, but i still love you.

rain forest cafe: it has got to be a crime to charge $7.99 for a kids meal.

sleeping: 2 nights of 5 hours of sleep. a room with no curtains.

mini-van: just the fact that we own one. it is a love/hate relationship.

friends: saying good-bye

(clinging to his sword and watching toy story 2 for the 10th time)

(the gum wall. i disinfected their hands, don’t worry)

(sam took this picture. i like it. i know samuel looks afraid, but i still like it)

(it was chaos. 8 kids under the age of 6. beautiful chaos)

(i had to take a picture of him sleeping because it rarely happened while he sat in that seat)

goodbye vacation. you were mighty good to us.

happy wednesday.

…orange wednesday…

Anjuli — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:06:53 +0000

wonder.

“My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of wonder.” meg ryan. (you gotta know by now that i love this girl) movie: joe vs. the volcano (sam’s favorite movie).

i want to be one of those people. the one that is awake. the one living in a constant state of wonder. and i think that taking pictures wakes me up. photography helps my eyes focus, draws me and moves me to become more alive. to appreciate beauty in the littlest of things. here, in the seemingly unnoticeable places, is where i find wonder in life. in feeling the sand between my toes, the twinkle in my sons eyes, and the little things that makes us all so unique. and it is here, in these moments, that i am full. satisfied. at peace. i am wonder-full.

what moves you to wonder?

p.s. i am on vacation for a week. yes, thank God for vacation. we are packing up the minivan and heading to SLO & Sac town to visit friends, play on the beach, and eat at firestone. i’ll miss you. until next wednesday..have a wonder-ful week. okay, i’ll stop with the pun. but seriously, am i the only one in the world that just put that together? wonderful and wonder-ful!?? that’s amazing! well, maybe i am the last person on the planet to make that connection. surprise, i’m not all that sharp. now i am just rambling and wondering around… okay. seriously, done. now.

happy wednesday.

…alisa & philip…

Anjuli — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:02:58 +0000

he saw her, loved her, then asked if he could marry her.

alisa’s mom made, yes made, her wedding dress.

…dugan family…

Anjuli — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:23:24 +0000

little ava quinn.

…veronica & ryan…

Anjuli — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 08:11:58 +0000

when they hold each other… they fit perfectly.

…forget me knot weddings…

Anjuli — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:11:28 +0000

when, megan, creator of forget me knot weddings asked me if she could feature one of my weddings on her blog, i was ecstatic.

her blog is beautiful, resourceful, and outrageously creative. i love it. i mean LOVE it.

take a stroll over to her blog and let your creative senses be filled.

…orange wednesday…

Anjuli — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:34:49 +0000

brave.

pneumonia, a massive hive that took over my face, flu, food poisoning, colds, 1 infections that i got twice, 2 trips to urgent care, and the stomach flu.

all illnesses i’ve had in the past 6 months.

when i got married i told sam that if i ever got a terminal illness, to just let me go. what i meant was: i am a wimp. i am not a fighter. when i get a headache i pop a few aspirin. when i went into labor and the nurses asked me if i wanted medicine i said, ” yes, please. NOW. thank you.” i am no superwoman. every time i get sick i have this thought, “i would rather DIE than feel like this!” (i told you i was a wimp). since i have been continuously infected with illnesses this year, i have had to seriously toughen up. and this last bout with the stomach flu was proof… i didn’t have that thought once! you heard me: not.even.once!! this was a definite accomplishment in my mind.

so i told sam. and his response, “wow, you are getting more brave.” (i sensed a slight sarcastic tone in his voice)

to which i replied: “i AM brave!” (i say like a 4 year old who just went down a big slide for the first time, standing proudly in a superman stance)

he interrupts my victory dance by saying, “I said more brave. not brave.”

thanks for always putting me in my place. kind of annoying, but i appreciate it.

***

to anyone who ever asks me what i actually do all day as a -stay at home- mom, i will kindly direct them to this post.

(piles of laundry)

(lunch)

(finger painting)

(cleaning up from finger painting)

(frozen yogurt. which is kind of a bribe, i mean, incentive for our next outing)

(haircut. thank you great clips, it was delightful.)

(quick trip to vons. i know. totally gross. i promise i put my camera away and took care of this situation)

(rest time. if you know me, you know i LOVE chick-fil-a. & daddy was proud about his book selection)

(a starbucks client meeting with the wonderful gracie & david)

(ran over to church to see Sam teach a fantastic seminar. love this man!)

kids asleep and laundry folded. can’t wait to do it all again tomorrow. my future frightens me. i can’t think long term.. just gotta get through today.

maybe i need to grow more brave in all areas of my life.

to all the moms out there, “how do you do this??? raise kids and not feel crazy? a little help please!??”