What to wear...

We are often asked questions regarding location choice and clothing choices when consulting with clients. Clothing choices are important for sessions, but nothing to stress over and lose sleep, or all the change in your wallet!!  There are a few basic principles to follow and they don't take a fashionista to figure out. You probably have a lot of things in your closet already that will look great! However, we are giving you permission to do a little shopping and suggesting you probably do so, unless your closet looks like my friend Katie's :)
We found these helpful tips, and wanted to share them with you as you plan for your photo session.  A little forethought and planning ahead goes a long way, don't underestimate it.

The first thing we want you to notice is that not everyone "matches", meaning "matchy-matchy" matching.  Get what we are saying?  If you buy the exact same thing in 2 different sizes, we are happy to offer you a little remediation :)
Secondly, start with a color palate and work off of that.  Pick one person's outfit and work off of that while you are piecing things together.  For outdoor photos we recommend staying away from pale, pastel colors.  Stick with jewel toned pieces.
Thirdly, ACCESSORIZE, ACCESSORIZE, ACCESSORIZE!!  We can't emphasize enough what a little splash of color and texture here and there does for your photos.  Check out etsy.com for some great and quite affordable accessories such as hats, scarves, hair accessories, kids' clothing, etc. We also love the hair accessories available at Whippy Cake.
Fourthly, create a mixture of solids and patterns for family photos and stay away from large, bold lettering for all sessions.  Too many patterns are distracting and take the focus off of you.
Fifthly, layers :)  Especially for boys!  A cute graphic tee, under another long sleeved tee, with a jacket/blazer and a pair of brightly colored shoes and hat to play with = winning combo.
Sixthly, pay attention to your footwear including socks.  It's a little distracting to have a white pair of socks hanging out under a nice pair of jeans with black shoes.  Hey, it happens..no one ever took the time to explain this rule to my dad (thank goodness for a mom who checks before he leaves the house)!
Seventhly.  I had to come up with one more because I just wanted to say "seventhly"!  Bring a friend who is good at shopping along with you for advice (I always bring my "stylist" along). They are often better at knowing what looks good on  you than you are! Don't hesitate to give us a call and ask if you are having trouble. Or bring options along to your shoot and we can help you pull things together and style your session.
Some great stores to check out are Children's Place, Gap, Old Navy, Crazy 8, Anthropologie, Banana Republic, JCrew, H&M, and your local thrift/consignment stores.
Happy planning!!

Think Spring!!!!

We recently purchased some new designs for our 3x3 Accordian books, Baby Announcements, and Christmas cards.  We couldn't be more pleased with how gorgeous they are and we are so excited to offer them to you!  A set of 3x3 Accordian books are available for purchase and can also be earned with 3 new client referrals.  These are wonderful gifts for Grandma's and MOTHER'S DAY.  Since you get 3, why not keep one for your purse too??  Don't be shy ladies, send your husband this link as a hint and we'll take care of making sure you get yours :)

Each accordian book comes in a slip cover for safe keeping in your purse (or "murse"...excuse me I meant briefcase...we don't judge).  You can also display it on your refrigerator with the embedded magnet in the cover (which also holds it closed)!!

Here are some of the designs you can choose from for your sessions images!


















PS. We wish we could say we captured all these gorgeous photos in the samples, but we didn't :(
Come on...how cute are these?
Okay, now for the baby announcements....

Since it is seems that Spring is certainly upon us...we aren't going to bother filling your heads with thoughts of Christmas and the next snow.  Just be assured that we have gorgeous Christmas cards to offer you this year.  Start planning your fall family photo session early.  Just a heads up we will be offering our Fall Mini-sessions again this year.  We'll get all the info out later in the summer.  Be sure to follow our blog to get in on a great deal.  Sessions fill fast!!

darling little "d"

Well you know what they say...you just get cuter with age (or at least we say that anyway!).  Little "d" was over the other day so we decided to do a quick shoot since she was almost 18 months old!  And even though it was quick, she never ceases to produce such cutie pie photos!  How can you resist her sweet face??  Gotta love her!

-Sonja

 And she even leaves you with a kiss....mmmuuuuuuahhhhhhh :)

Sweet little lady

We had the pleasure of seeing this little lady again.  Haven't seen her since she was a few days old.  Always amazes me how much they change in such a relatively short amount of time.  Just think how smart we'd all be if we could each learn as much as she has in 6 months!!  

Can't wait to see what you learn in the next 6 months....

Thanks again K family!

Jen & Sonja

1+1=40

Maybe you are thinking my math is a little off...well not if you just added twin boys to your family.  20 more toes and 20 more fingers to love (and manicure) and probably 40 times the work :) Seriously these boys couldn't have been any more perfect for their photo debut.  They slept like angels, barely dirtied a blanket, and were just sweet and "edible" as Sonja put it at one point.  I think we could have stayed all day and cuddled them.   

Congrats on your beautiful little boys "B" and "H".  They are absolutely perfect in every way!  Well done. Thanks for allowing us to capture their first portraits!
Sonja & Jen

baby "c"

As I'm sure we will all agree, we are a little over and done with this winter weather!  But one thing is for sure...photographing a newborn baby on a cold day just warms you right up :)  It really is the perfect thing to do during the winter months!  Baby "c" was 3 weeks old when we did his pictures and I will say I was a little nervous as to whether he'd be as sleepy as I wanted him to be since we passed that 2-week mark.  But he was PERFECT!  I'm so glad we were able to capture these moments for the "T" family!  Congrats on your sweet bundle!  He is precious!  

-Sonja & Jen

I came to...

Okay, done deal....she's cute!!!! And she's 1.  We headed out for some 1 year old photos for "E" and her big sister "G".  Can't believe how big they have both gotten since we started photographing both of them.

The Walker was a great place to get some fun photos...and a purple wall for 2 little darling girls was just a sweet little bonus.  Love!!  We had hoped to get to this location last month with our own little people, but failed to realize that museums generally take Monday's off.  Whoops!  Now we know.  

When I look at these photos...I can't help but singing to myself "I came to dance, dance, dance, dance...".  Seriously, how can you not love a 3 year old!?!

baby "k"

I know we have said this before, but the sweetness of a newborn just never gets old.  Baby "K" was just 1 week old when we did his newborn pics and he was great!  Big sister "K" got some shots in with her brother too and I think she loves him just a little :)  Thanks for a great shoot and letting me capture these first moments of mr. "k" for you!  We look forward to seeing him grow!

-Sonja & Jen

 And he even ended with a smile...such a good little model :)