What about fall leaves?

There is a magic window in northern Utah in which to capture fall color in your portrait. It is difficult to predict and very tenuous. This year it looked like we would get great color because we had that little nip of cold in the night air. And then mother nature had a hot flash and we warmed right back up to mid-summer temperature. While we may have enjoyed leaving our jackets and sweaters off, it changed the fall folage. Without a source of water, the increased temperature tanned and dried out the red leaves. You can still capture some yellow and orange, but be so quick because one good wind and they all fall to the ground. No worries, it's a look we can work with. The point being, now is the time to book and take family photos for that desireable fall look. Call soon.

Location, location, location.....

I'm often asked about my preferred location for taking pictures. I travel all over northern Utah when I need too. But really, you are the focus of my pictures. I don't put fussy distracting flora or fauna in the background because I think the picture should be about you and your picture. I mean really, did you want to frame a picture of grass? This family session was done at Oaklawn Park, a little known secret green space hidden in a residential area. It's an area that is always changing, I was very disappointed when they removed all the dead trees because they were great props for positioning my families. You can still find rocks and trees, bridges and stairs, or a great expanse of green lawn to give you just the look you want.

Why you can't slip uncle bob into the picture...

Another fun thing to "photo-chop" is people that forgot to show up to your family photo shoot. Really, if they are missing, bring a cardboard cut-out because that will look as real as any other option. The planets must be in absolute alignment for a doctored picture to be added in. The biggest give away is difference of white balance. This relates to the type of natural light at your photo shoot, it changes as the sun follows it's pre-ordained path across the sky, so even two pictures taken on the same day may not blend well because of lighting. Another give away is focus, depending on lense length some areas in a photo are more "sharp" then others. All of these must match to make a believeable composition. All that being said, is there a photo in this post or the one that preceded that has been "photo-chopped" beyond my normal tweaking? I never give up my secrets, but I will confess that my hair-color comes from a box.

Can't you "photo-chop" it all?

I spend at least as much time editing pictures as I do taking them. Sometimes this is guided by my personal need to "tweak" them, change the angle, add an overlay, in general fix them in some way. Commonly, after making a few general tweaks, such as removing an errant hair, buffing the glare from glasses or making an unsightly blemish less noticeable, I am asked "why don't you just remove all the imperfections?" Like someone who gets serial plastic surgery, when then would I stop? Perfection is for models, not your family. Your family is real, they are fallible and because of that real. Here's a tip though, in the event that you have a breakout on the day of your pictures, refrain from heavily covering it up. I promise all you are doing is drawing attention to the wad of make-up on your face. It can be tough to "photo-chop" out. Instead, use toothpaste. Really, I'm not making this up. I choose toothpaste that is white in color, but others may work as well. Besides this doesn't burn like when you use preparation H on your face, information for a different blog. It's best if you have overnight to work with. A light smear of toothpaste will reduce the redness and make the swelling of inflamed tissue go down and besides your face will smell minty fresh. Small less noticeable redness is very easy to "photo-chop", giving you the best representation of your face in your pictures. This is a temporary solution, to really treat inflamed acne it's best to seek a dermatologist.

If you ever chance to read "fancy-nancy"...

Little girls can really shine in pink. Feathers may tickle some and make others solemn. This little brunette was all about working the boa. She became a primping princess, the hard part was getting her to focus on the camera. THis may not be the picture that you blow up and post on your wall, but what a great addition to a personal history. When she is a grandma, her grand-daughters will love these poses.

How to take a "perfect" picture....

If you want to have the "perfect" picture, I suggest you hire actors and actresses to protray your family. Because in the real world you get what you've got. They may have short attention spans, get distracted easily, have trouble following instructions and prefer to look "natural". You know that look that only a mother "has" to love? But they are yours, so enjoy them, go with the flow, make a memory and create something you can blackmail them with later.

Have you ever seen the "boogey-monster"?

Either I strongly resemble the boogey-man, or whatever other creepy thing slithers out from under his bed at night. Or maybe, I'm standing in front of a very large herd of flesh-eating zombies. In any case, it proves the point that children are unpredictable. They have a very brief limited period of time in which to be photographed. You can increase the chances of getting the shot you want by making sure they are well fed, freshly diapered, recently napped and appropriately bribed and then you just have to cross your fingers and hope the planets align in your favor. That's alot of details. Sometimes the best you can do is grin and bear it and put it all into perspective. This is just a moment in time. Smiling in the moment uses fewer muscles than a frown and after all, most of us are as lazy as we look.