Three Secrets That Your Photographer May Not Be Sharing With You

I've been photographing families since 1989.

I KNOW.

I'm old.

In 30 years, I've seen all kinds of trends come and go.  Stirrup pants, and lips with dark liner and pale lipstick, fluffy eyelashes, and heels that raise you up about 6 inches.

Amongst other things.

What hasn't changed is posing, lighting, and emotion.

I'm about to share with you three secrets that your photographer probably isn't telling you...

1.  Posing
It's true... some lenses are short and will put 10 pounds on a person.  Other lenses are long, and will take off 10 pounds.  But a sure fire thing to help anyone look better is great posing.

Typically, when you are with your kids, and you hand your cell phone to your girlfriend and ask her to take a photo, because you're never in photos with your kids, you're trying to wrangle your kids in the photo.  Because you're trying to keep them in one spot, your arms look double their size, your shirt is hiked up making you look pregnant, and the ketchup stains from little fingers that wiped on your jeans is showing.  You just never look good, no matter what, in photos.

Unfortunately, sometimes your photographs done by a new photographer, might end up looking very similar, and that is where the belief is cemented, that you just never look good in photographs.

Good posing will help you look like you've lost 10 pounds.  Good, directed posing will help you to look great in a photograph with your kids when wrangling them.  Good, directed posing will look natural and help you feel confident during your session, as well as make you feel great every time you see your photographs.






2.  Good lighting
There's something to be said about natural light and using it well.   And then there's not using it well.

Typically, when out and about with your kids on your favorite trail, and you want to get a quick photo, and you are under a tree, with the sunbeams filtering through, it looks so pretty. Surely that will look pretty in a photo.  Instead, you get shadows of branches and trees all across your children's bodies and it looks weird.

The secret to good lighting outside is being in open shade with the sun behind your subject.  This creates all kinds of wonderful effects by photographers who know how to manipulate light.

Good lighting can make you look 10 pounds lighter, too.

3.  Emotion
Something I heard a lot from moms in the late 90s and early 2000s was "I don't want my daughter smiling like that.  Her eyes get squinty and I want to see her beautiful eyes."

This was disheartening to hear.  Usually, the daughters looked natural and smiley, and happy, when I spoke with them and helped them to feel confident in front of the camera, while entertaining them, to get the natural, reactive smiles.  What these moms were looking for were photo smiles, where there was no emotion in the eyes, but you sure got to see their irises.

What this also said was "Your smile makes you look ugly".  I also heard a lot from moms was, "I don't want her looking angry, either".  Trying to get a young teenage girl to look happy without actually smiling, took a lot of work.  I often got in trouble for my sessions going over the time limit we were given.  I didn't care.  I wanted these kids to feel comfortable in their own skins, and with their emotions.

A reactive smile (a smile that is a reaction to something funny) is natural, and emotion is carried up into the eyes.  Squinty or not, genes play a big part, and Mom is probably saying the same thing that her mother said to her.  Just let me help you smile.  Let me help you feel during your session.  We'll get the best emotion if you let me.

And there you have it.  Three secrets that your photographer may not be sharing with you.

Bee in love with the heartwork of your life.

Easing back into a routine AFTER school begins!

     There are all kinds of Getting Back to School Lists.  No matter how many times you get to go through it, those first couple of weeks are just rough; getting used to a new morning routine, hoping the bus driver remembers to pick up your child, after school snacks and activities, dinner, homework, and bed.  There are also the weekends.

What’s a mom to do?  You have to navigate through all of this WHILST maintaining your personal routine, and pray that your children sync with you, and not the other way around.

     

     1.Start off the morning with easy, fun breakfasts.  Here are 35 delicious dishes that you and your kids can pre-make for the week.  Some are even awesome for after school snacks.

     2. Pick simple clothes to wear.  I know you did back to school shopping, following the rules that the school sets, and you know you love those first back to school outfits.  Hopefully you set these out the night before with your children’s help.

     3. Bus, walk, or carpool?  If you’ve never put your kids on the bus, it can be a little bit anxiety-inducing, especially if you experience the bus completely forgetting about your kids.  Make sure you know where the bus stop is, and the best walking route.  If you carpool, make sure you know where the drop off area is, and make sure that your kids are ready to jump out as soon as you stop. 

4.  After School Snacks can be easy to make, delicious, and full of nutrition.  Here are 16 awesome snacks you can make with your kids, and so much better than snack cakes and chips.

5.  After-school schedules depend on your work schedule, and the personalities of your kids.  Some kids do well by coming home, getting a snack, and getting right to homework, so they have the rest of the evening to relax.  Other kids need to run and play hard right after school; all of that sitting and learning has made brains ready to explode because they need to move.  A snack, a physical activity, dinner, and then homework is a schedule that might make more sense. You’ll figure out pretty quickly what works for you.

6.  School night dinners can be pretty daunting.  I found that meal planning helped so much… Thinking about dinner 5 minutes after work is too much.  However, I know that not everyone plans their menus.  Here is a website full of possibilities, and I don’t think one needs to have kids in school to make these.  So many look sooooo delicious!

7. Evening routines can be so crazy.  Scouts, church night, sports, music lessons, and so much more can run havoc on those evenings.  Those are the nights you want to make your schedule as easy as possible.  Leftovers for dinner, clothes set out for tomorrow, and quick showers will help the next morning be easier, because your chores after dinner will be less.

8.  School lunches.  Crazy time, amirite?  So on the nights that look like the described ones in tip #7, plan for your kids to get school lunches.  Did you know that making lunch for your kids is a silent reminder of your love for them?  If you’re looking for something beyond the #basiclunches of #PBJ, this website is something you want to check out.  Easy to put together the night before, and so much fun to eat.  A simple love note on a post-it makes an extra touch.

9.  Homework is everyone’s favorite thing to do!  What do you mean, you’d rather be hung by your toes and have your leg hairs plucked individually from a scary buffalo-head-wearing salsa dancer?  LOL.  Having a distraction free area helps, but giving a 45 minute time period of working, and then 15 minutes of fun time, like a dance party.  Playing music with binaural beats can help focus; there is plenty from which to choose on YouTube.

10.  Time management is not an easily achieved skill for many people.  Helping your child put a schedule together is helpful in a kid version planner.  It may help the arguments as well, when you work with them to set up their schedule.

I hope that these different ideas help.Let us know!