So we're in Alberta. Visiting my Mom's sister Margaret and the family. But our first full day, we decided to take a trip to Lacombe to visit with my Dad's brother Cliff, who we don't get to see terribly often. A pleasant surprise, Cliff's youngest daughter, my cousin Trish, who I have not seen since I was maybe 10 was there with her daughters too! We had a great visit and I'm so glad the timing worked out the way it did. Now if only cousin Kathie and her kids had been there too!...

The girls were a bit wound up from an earlier trip to the big city (well, Red Deer) but they eventually settled down.

And finally, I got one picture of Trish and I, together after 20 years. I don't think I was taller than her the last time :) But it really was great to see her - who knew you could go 20 years and turn out to still have some things in common apart from blood lines :)

I am on holiday again/still. So while I have more reliable internets right now, family commitments might make the postings a little less regular.

I hope y

So you’ve made the decision to go ahead and get some photos done, either for yourself or for your family. Great! Now what to wear?

Like anything, dressing yourself well is a skill. Generally we can all manage pants; one leg then the other (and hopefully shoes come afterward). However there really is an art to dressing yourself in such a manner that puts your best foot forward. What Not To Wear probably wouldn’t have had a successful ten year run otherwise. This is especially true when being photographed.

One might think “this is how I am, and that’s good enough.” While it’s true, it’s important to be comfortable in the style of clothes you’re wearing, if you are putting down money to have your portraits taken, it’s worth it to take a few extra minutes to plan out what you’ll wrap yourself in. Yes, the clothes you wear should be representative of who you are, but at the same time, they should not take the focus away from you! Clothes, given too much freedom, can become characters unto themselves!

If you have mastered the art of wearing clothing that best show you off, then great. You’re ahead of the game! But if you’re doing group photos and you know for a fact that not everyone is as masterful as you are at this talent, here are a few tips to help you to help them out.

Dark Versus Light

Dark colours are generally preferable to lighter colours. Anyone who does laundry knows all too well, (or anyone who’s driven a white car for that matter), if you come up against anything non-white (grass, grease, the ever crafty spaghetti sauce), it’s going to show up. Particularly with little ones who might not be as conscientious about keeping the clothes pristine until after the camera has been put away.

Plus, as a rule of thumb, the lightest part of the image should be your face(s), regardless of skin-tone. So if you’re standing in your closet, looking at what you’ve got, go for the darks before the lights. This will help to instantly draw the viewer’s eye to your face, which unless you are modeling clothing or jewelry etc., is probably what you want people to see first.

Nix the Patterns!

Some people love bold patterns. And for some, it helps to highlight their personality. And while it’s true that for some people it really brings their particular look together (anyone looking at the photo would say “Oh yeah… that’s Jane…”) if you do not fall into this category, STAY AWAY FROM THE PAISLEYS. Paisley, geometric patterns, even a simple plaid or checked shirt can take attention away from your face. This is something of particular concern with men, because it’s very common for men to include shirts with small checked patterns or very fine plaids. If you have no other options, I would suggest that the smaller the pattern, the better because it will be more likely to read as a neutral than bigger, bolder ones.

And of course, lines! We need to consider lines. Most people don’t want to appear bigger than they are on camera, so horizontal lines are generally best avoided. And in general, if you are doing a group photo, it’s best to try to coordinate with the others. If you are wearing something with a lot of stripes (IE: Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice!) or paisleys and everyone else is wearing solid colours, you run the risk of sticking out like the crazy aunt/uncle. That said, if you ARE the crazy aunt/uncle and that’s just who you are, then make sure the rest of the family is okay with it or if you are on your own make sure your photographer knows what to expect in your session. They can help tailor your session to show your exuberant personality shine.

Colour Coordinating

You might think it goes without saying, but as is often the case when a sentence is started that way, there’s often someone, somewhere for whom it needs to be said… Multiple times. Particularly when dealing with groups, it is best to have some sort of game plan or rules for the group to follow. If you have 5 people getting a portrait together and one of them is wearing burgundy when the others are all wearing black? That one person will be the first thing everyone else sees. On the other hand, if you’re all wearing burgundy, then everyone is more likely to have equal visual footing in the image. On this same point, warm colours tend to “come forward” in photos and cool colours “recede” so keep that in mind.

You don’t necessarily all have to wear the SAME colours, but leaning toward the same end of the spectrum is probably a good idea.

Long Sleeves

This might get a debate going, but generally, long sleeves are best. That said, if it’s a hot summer day, I am not going to force my clients to wear something that will be uncomfortable before I even shoot the first frame. If you have fish-belly white skin 9/10ths of the year like myself, however, it comes back to the thought that your face should be the lightest part of the image so it gets the most attention. If Conan O’Brien showed up for portraits in shorts and a tank top, the glare might blow the CCD chip in my camera. Clearly, I’m exaggerating, but you get the point.

Creasy McCreaser

Last but not least… I know, I know. I don’t like to iron any more than the next person, but try to make sure it doesn’t look like you slept in it. Fresh clothes! They will make you look that much more together!

So there you have it, just a few tips to help you choose what clothing to put your best foot forward on photography day. Obviously, like any rules, these might not always apply to you specifically, depending on the tone and type of images you are looking for (certainly, if you were doing a boudoir session, long sleeves might not be appropriate!) but for Family and Individual portraits, these should help. And as always, when in doubt; ask your photographer! They are there to not only get great images for you to show off and be proud of, but they want to get something that they can also show off and be proud of and they will want to work with you to get an image that everyone can be happy with!

I am running around today, but wanted to do a quick post with a few extra images from the lake.  I am heading to Alberta for a few days to visit family and hoping to see some awesome skies while I'm there. I hope everyone is having a good summer so far!

(Taking the very scenic route home, we stopped at the Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine on the other side of the Batoche Ferry. That's possibly the happiest Mary I've ever seen.)

I lost my internet connection up at the lake for a couple of days, so I apologize if there's anyone who has already come to expect daily updates on this blog (here's hoping anyway!). But I did a little work anyway, to tie in with my upcoming mini-sessions promotion. So have a read and maybe it will help to answer some questions or concerns you may have about getting pictures of your kids.

Children Might Need a Take 2.
Children. The apple of your eye. The light of your life. The demon inside a small version of an adult that can morph from your little prince/princess into a completely unrecognizable monster the second the photographer says “Say cheese!”

Full disclosure: I have no children. However, that said, having been a kid once and observed my family and friends who do have children, I like to think I might have some insights to share. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you how to parent your kids, and I’m not saying that I should be raising children (I’m quite certain I would end up raising either the most rebellious child this side of The Omen or a complete bubble child) but that said, there are some ways to maximize the potential to have a successful photo session with children.

Children are the bosses. And sometimes, it’s best not to fight this. Not that I am in any way advocating letting the children make the decisions as a rule, but when it comes to children’s photography, sessions can be hampered by several circumstances.

One thing I’ve seen on more than one occasion is that a session might start out happily enough, but when things start to go sideways, parents start getting louder as they grow more frustrated which magnifies the kids’ frustration, compounded by their lack of understanding as to why they have to sit there and have a stranger point a lens in their face.

Generally with child photography you and the photographer are interested in capturing the youth, playfulness and innocence of the child, maybe the way the child’s eyes resemble their mother’s or how they have their father’s chin. Or the way the different flecks of colour in their eyes sparkle. But if tempers are flaring and you can’t see the colour in the child’s eyes because they’re squeezed shut, tears flowing as they’re screaming at the top of their lungs... This is an extreme case, obviously, and I’ve never actually had a shoot get to that stage of a melt-down. But just keep in mind, particularly when doing on-location shooting, if the child is starting to act up a bit, sometimes it’s best for everyone to give the child/children a little space and freedom. Skip around, pick flowers (or weeds), run around in circles, chase butterflies. An engaged photographer will likely go with it, following the child with their camera to not only try to get some good candid photos of them, but also to get the kid used to their presence. And if you give them the chance to let some of that energy out, they might be that much more willing to regroup, now with some colour in their cheeks and smiles on their faces when you try again 10-15 minutes later. Suddenly, seated as a group, the child is only too happy to help you all to get a good group photo.

HOWEVER… like with anything, sometimes you need to know when you’re licked. While this isn’t always possible (IE: you’re at a family reunion and everyone is taking off the next morning) sometimes it’s best to step back, realize that things are just not working out for that day, and agree to try again on another day or even just a later hour. Sometimes the kid needs a nap, or to eat or might be over-stimulated depending on what else has been going on so they might need some quiet time. There is no shame in walking away for a time and trying again later. And if the kids who are normally very well behaved are having conniptions, it’s not a bad reflection on you as parents, in fact, better to know your kids and realize they have their limits. And chances are, everyone would be happier with a “Take 2” on the session than forcing the issue, seeing junior’s splotchy red face and tears in his eyes as he struggles, held tightly in your arms as you smile with dead eyes and gritted teeth.

As I am frequently mentioning on this blog, your photographer wants to capture images that make both you and themselves happy – something that you will both be proud to look and show to others for years to come. They will understand. Trust them. They have everyone’s best interests in mind. Where possible, the photographer will most likely be willing to rebook the session to make sure you all walk away from the experience happy.

As the title implies, there's some interesting stuff in my (current, at the moment) neighbourhood up in the wilds of Central Saskatchewan. Lots of rocks and mosses, spiders and webs (ones that you run into then spend the next 5 minutes trying to get it all off you until you give up because there's JUST NO END TO IT!) and leaves that you would normally pass right by. But the way the light shows off the texture, particularly when you have a new lens to play with, makes you stop for a moment...

Please note; I am terrified of spiders. I could regale you with a tale of the showdown I had with a 7 legged spider in my home. But in spite of my fear, for some reason, when it comes to opportunities to photograph them I am weirdly drawn to them. Perhaps it's a subconscious way of trying to overcome the fear. Perhaps it's a rebellious sort of way to say "eff you spider! I'm stealin' yer soul!" But one thing... there's a bunch of them up here.

It's rare that I ever come to the lake without at least SOME work that I have to do. And this trip is no exception. As I'd been working on other projects I am now taking some time to finally edit some of the images of Aliona I did a couple of weeks ago at our last session together.

Here's a couple images. I'm quite digging the Black and White today, not sure why, though perhaps the setting and Aliona's choice of dress made me think of Calvin Klein ads?