I LOVE being asked by kids to do something.
LOVE. IT. I love that they are interested in the session and they feel comfortable enough with me to ask. I honestly love working work extra hard editing childrens requests because not only is it something different to play around with but I know they see the value in the work. I love that it is a moment the kids can share in having fun with mom/dad. I love that I KNOW they will feel all warm and fuzzy when they look at it.
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Who doesn't love a beach vacation!?
A day at the beach, relaxation, free from work and home responsibilities. Only to find new ones, sand in everything, sunburn, over heated and tired kids, carrying everything but the kitchen sink, wondering if your keys will still be there when you get out of the water. Read below to see how we've come to combat a few of these problems! Between Caitie being a Florida native and Amy's 14 years in the area, they have learned a thing or two about making a trip to the beach a little easier. Read on for some tips on how to deal with sand and heat. We love furry friends and are always pleased to add them into our sessions! While pets are not allowed on the beach without a permit we can get some images nearby or in other locations.
Here are some things you should remember to bring to ensure everything goes smoothly: We love photographing children! They are entertaining, honest and wear their emotions on their sleeves. We are well rehearsed in children, Caitie has four, Amy has five, and has taught at the elementary school level areas of preschool, special education and art for many years before turning to to photography full time. Our ultimate goal is for your child feel safe and to make sure they are having a good experience. Working together with you we will help your child feel comfortable and truly happy so we may capture your child's true self and personality. We want you and your child to smile when looking back at these images! Please know we will not judge you or your child. We understand that some little ones with big emotions cannot always keep it contained (I'm sure we've all met a few adults who have trouble with this as well...). Amy has taught special education and has trained as a registered behavior technician under a behavior therapist so there's not much she hasn't seen or dealt with. We have never considered any child to be 'bad', no one wants to be in trouble, they simply lack the tools to convey what the problem is even if it is just 'I need attention' or 'I need some space'. Some little ones may have not been diagnosed with a sensory disorder, ADHD or the autism spectrum or are simply especially sensitive to the feel of the sand or are very shy and cautious. We want your child to have real smiles and will never force a situation they are not comfortable with. There are always options. We have our tips and tricks, all we ask of you is to relax and assure your children that this is going to a short and fun time! Be sure to let us know if there is anything that may trigger your child such as a certain song, topic or sensory or the adverse, if there is anything they especially like. Let's look at it from your toddler's perspective for a minute. Toddlers are just realizing things may be going on outside their little circle and that caregivers are not always able to control every situation. This can cause new behaviors as they experience new emotions. Many times they have not visited a beach so it is a whole strange and new environment for them; all senses are on high alert and emotions are ramping up for all the fight/flight love it/hate it. This can be seen in many forms depending on the child. They can be shy, scared, nervous, anxious, or happy until they figure out what is going on in this new place. They will look to you to guide them, if you are stressed and anxious they can feel that. Let's look at a few ways you can help prepare your child for your photography session Once we are at the session we won't have a lot of time to coax out natural smiles for each shot. So how do we get the little ones to understand the concept of smiling on command when there's nothing in particular to smile about? We have a few tricks but there are things you can do to help as well.
Even as an adult if you put a time to anything you do not want to do it's so much easier to get through it. I save bribery for last. For one thing, it doesn't last long and I don't want to give away my secret weapon too soon. I keep a roll of Smarties on me because not only is there no saturated fat, very very little sugar (just 6 grams for a whole roll), they are also gluten, dairy, and peanut-free, according to the official website. It dissolves quickly enough for toddlers to not present a choking hazard, it does not leave candy trails on the face or hands and comes in rolls of 15 so it can be used more than once. I essentially buy their happiness and pay them to like me. "After every picture we get a Smartie!". (We do permission beforehand). ![]() Start showing pictures and videos of the beach to get your child familiar with environment. A lot of children are amazed with the sand, they either love it and want to roll in it and eat it or they're scared it will stick to them and never come off. Try putting some dirt in a bowl for your child to play with and get used to the idea that it's ok. If you know your child has tactile sensory issues and will not get in the sand let us know and we can be prepared with something for him/her to stand/sit on during the session.
If you have anymore tips or tricks that have worked for you let us know in the comments below!
Photographing clients is the one part of our job clients see, we do much of our work before and after the session. Editing is harder, and easier, than one would imagine. It takes a lot of classes, research and testing to get it right and we are always learning and expanding as our programs are. Take a look below to get an idea of how we like to edit. As photographers and not digital artist we strive to retain the integrity of the image and subject while enhancing the overall image. For instance, a general rule is 'if it will be there in a month it stays'. Tattoos, birthmarks, scars will remain unless requested and face blemishes, bruises, spots on clothes will be edited out. We smooth the complexion while retaining wrinkles. We want you to look like the best version of you while not feel like you are a stranger. We edit out flyaway hair, extra subjects in the background, cars/buildings if possible. My goal with each image you get back is for it to be a 'portrait', not simply a photograph someone took of you. We take hundreds of pictures during a session, making real time adjustments to each shot. Every click is intended and planned for. Sometimes it's to get extras to use for face swapping, sometimes to catch the hair not billowing to the sky, or to expose for different lighting situations, or it's to ensure there's no eye blinking. There are just way too many reasons to list here. It’s necessary to take these images, they are part of the working process of art, just as a painter sometimes tries a few colors before making the final stroke. We then go through the images and cull them, marking the ones that will be edited, discarding the eyeblinks and my own testing shots to select the real pieces of art that all the other shots helped create. We choose the best of each 'pose', combining several photos together if necessary so hopefully we can get some of everyone smiling, not blinking and looking their best. We love to add extra shots, the story telling images taken throughout a shoot in addition to the posed images. We take those shots and spend a great deal of time working with them by hand to tone the color, smooth any imperfections, and produce heirloom pieces of art that are up to our artistic standards – the same quality of work you saw in our portfolio. And finally, to answer the question of why we do not give out all the images we shot. Not all shots are created nor intended as final products – they simply enabled us to work out issues that arose to ensure you’d get the high quality images you received. Below is a standard A&C edit. Cleaning up the background, making sure all have smiling faces, and finishing up with adding our brand style all while maintaining the quality that ensures a good print.
Some images require more editing time than others. This one below was edited to remove distractions and bring focus to the story.
Sometimes you have to grab the moments as they come and do not have time to set up the shot. In this case I was photographing his sister when I turned around and saw him coming up and just had to take the shot. The cityscape on the left was bothering me too much so I filled it in to create the story of him in the woods taking a stroll in a stream.
Although my lovely model did not need much help, we do light skin retouching on each image to enhance ones natural beauty.
We understand in this day and age people prefer their images digitally so they may immediately show them off and delay thinking about the whens' and whys' of prints. That's great! We have no problem with that, sharing helps our business grow and we want you to have all the beautiful images we spent time creating for you! This is why we offer digital images with our packages. But it is not our preferred way to deliver images to you, we much prefer prints and here is why. When you invest in professional portrait photography you are looking for more than some pictures to store inside the computer and forget about. You invest in someone with the knowledge and expertise that allows you to present your family and memories in an artistic way that brings you joy when you view it, whether it be a wall collage, a heirloom canvas or memory album. Something you can hold when you need to remember that nostalgic feeling of togetherness. I could go on forever with this topic and with much less eloquence than others have, so let's just move on to the second reason we prefer prints over thumb drives. The technical aspect. We simply cannot guarantee prints you have printed yourself. We cannot guarantee each image will print equally as lovely at 30x46 as a 4x6 and colored correctly. There are many factors into prepping an image to print, large or small. We consider the size, product, company and add-ons when prepping images to print.
When you order from us we will prep the image so it may reach full quality potential. We have vetted many printing companies and have chosen the ones we trust the most and have calibrated our screens to ensure correct colors when printing. We are able to advise you on what sizes to get, what images work best in a wall collage, what image works better in canvas, metal, or frame. We can create a personalized memory book with your favorite images and quotes.
You may see this word throughout our website and be wondering, what does that mean? Is it just a buzz word or does it have an actual meaning? There are different types of photographers. I'm not saying one way is good or bad, just different. There are many wonderful photographers in our area, so which fits YOU? While we would love to be the photographer of your dreams we do understand if we are not.
We want to help you find the right fit for you. The one that delivers what you want is the right one for you. You want wall worthy prints. You want a book you can leave on the coffee table to remind you of the good times, the fun times when the whole family was together and happy. We can help.
We meet at Grayton Beach State Park and George immediately showed us he was a beach loving boy.
Oh my heart! We certainly LOVE senior sessions! Especially when we get to shoot at two locations. I just had to write and share about this session. Eden Garden State Park in Santa Rosa Beach and Grayton Beach State Park were the perfect locations for this creative senior's portraits. There are so many good ones to share, check them out!
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