We all have an idea of the typical portrait session - the goal is that everyone looks and smiles at the same time and the end product is a perfect photograph to go over the fireplace. I love those photographs. Personally, I try to capture one of those each year for my family and at least a few sibling photographs. However, there is another kind of photograph and they are so much fun and so much less stressful than the typical portrait session, particularly with little ones! They are called Lifestyle Sessions, or Lifestyle Photography. Lifestyle sessions capture fun moments, laughter, smiles, cuddles... they capture walks or chats and sometimes funny jokes... the families look at each other rather than the camera and when you look back at the images, you remember the special moments. The photographs make you smile all over again. They capture a sweet kiss... Lots of giggles... Pure joy.
Sometimes the moments are spontaneous, but they are also carefully orchestrated by your photographer to capture the best light and angles. Sometimes they involve more planned and involve simple props. Locations like this must be prepared in advance... if you think my kitchen looks like this all the time... or even ever... then we need to get to know each other better. However, if you choose to shoot in your kitchen or in your home, it does not need to be perfect, the extra things can be set behind the photographer and no one will ever know the difference! (Not that I would ever do that ;) ) Of course lighting is another factor to be considered in these situations so it takes a little planning. Ideas Do you think this kind of session would suit you? Send me a message and lets make a plan... Here are a few ideas to get you thinking! A candy picnic A fruit picnic An ice cream picnic Reading a book on a blanket outdoors Reading a book in your home on the bed or on the couch (insert declutter areas where we will photograph your home) A park with a great swing or row of swings A prop “bed” in my studio for cuddling, reading, telling jokes A big bright kitchen to cook something fun (prep cookie dough, prepare baked cookies...) A picnic table and popcorn fight (been there, shot this, so many laughs...) A park with favorite toys (bikes, dinosaurs, dolls, tea party) Blowing bubbles... Playing with a favorite toy... Display These images are displayed best in collages or groupings on a wall. One photograph is great, but when it comes to lifestyle photography, more is more. Tips Wear clothing that will allow you to move and participate in the activity. Think about props that you will need to prepare in advance. Sometimes, less is more.
0 Comments
I recently put out a model call and several people replied, but my sweet friend, neighbor, and small business colleague said that she could be available if I needed someone. Guess who I would pick first every time?! Amanda. She is not only gorgeous and a fashion-godess, but she is also a very successful business woman, the owner of Oh Hey Benay. And on top of that she is such an amazing cheerleader for other women, business owners, and baseball moms... ;) I have decided that is one of my favorite new locations. As you know, we live in the dessert and it has its own unique character, colors, and sunrises, but sometimes it takes some creativity to find the beauty. Here, there is no equipment, no giant metal buildings or oil rigs, it is just open space. It is actually very close to my home studio so I get to gaze across it every day and I certainly love that about it too! This fall, among other sessions, I am taking family photographs at this location! To book your Midland Desert Sunrise session, click the "schedule" link in the menu above!
This girl... the darling cake that her mother made... and these beautiful colors! We had such a fun session. Lots of giggles and great shots to celebrate her special birthday! She was initially interested in the pretty pink candle... But she quickly realized how much she like the cake and frosting... And then she realized how fun it was to make cake fly! LOL. Happy Birthday, darling E!
This beautiful girl had such a great session last week. Our session took place in the middle of the day so the sun was high and it was so breezy - but those factors didn't slow us down. We found some amazing spots and made some magically photos! She will be celebrating her Quinceanera this summer so this portrait session is just to celebrate her! Isn't she beautiful?! Her smile is so beautiful and she is a natural in front of the camera! And better than that, her mother now has a beautiful collection of photographs to always remind this special year in her daughter's life. Parrish Photography is so excited to photograph the big party this summer! Photos to come - July 2018!
This was such a fun session! This lovely family is new to the area and they wanted to capture their family photographs in the native Permian-Basin scenery. We shot the session at my favorite location and at the perfect time of day (sunset). My new customers looked so beautiful and they were excited too. I couldn't have hoped for anything else. When we arrived, little man was content since he had just finished his bottle and the puppy was very excited because she was invited to join the session, so there was nothing left to do, but wait just a few minutes for the sun to begin to set. I always take individual photographs of each of the children in a family session, but to celebrate the little guy's half birthday, we took LOTS. I have no idea how his mother choose her photographs because he is such a photographic little thing! As the sun sunk below the horizon, it started to get chilly so we made sure this little man was warm and happy and grabbed a few more shots!
Are you ready for a giggle? This session was so fun to plan and so fun to shoot. Baby J is having a fiesta birthday party so his mama had the fun idea of a TACO (!!!) "cake" smash! Baby J took a little while to warm up to the studio... but once he saw that his cake was actually tacos, he was all in! His mama picked such fun decor from the colorful banner to the traditional pinata to the bright balloons and the giant number one! Sweet J is a huge taco fan! I've never seen a baby love cake as much as this cute guy loved these tacos! Happy FIRST Birthday!
Amanda and I met through our husbands who are hilarious together. We have done the baseball mom thing together and the Pinterest mom thing (we have a fun project in the works even now)... and our lovely husbands have shared offices... our kids have shared schools... We adore each other's babies and send each other photos of our kids when we can't be at #allthethings and events. Amanda is one of the sweet people in my life who makes Midland feel smaller and makes Midland feel like home. Basically, I adore her (and her family). This is her wonderful husband, Brian and they make such an amazing couple. The other thing about Amanda that MUST be mentioned is that she is a fashion goddess and has her own online boutique called Oh Hey Benay with over 3000 Facebook followers! (If you are in the market, visit her website or facebook page and please, tell her that I sent you and give her a hug from me.)
Madison's mother scheduled this session to celebrate her daughter's sixteen birthday. She sent me some thumbnails of the type of photographs that they wanted and we picked a date! Madison came into the photography studio ready for a great session: her outfit, make-up, hair, and darling maroon heals were perfection! I set up some unique "high key" lighting so that we could achieve the dramatic images that we wanted. Madison was ready to try out every posing suggestion that I gave her. She was amazing! Happy Sweet Sixteen, Madison! I loved working with you and I can't wait for our next session.
For some of you, family photography shoots happen as regularly as your dental check-ups and I love that about you. I love seeing your babies grow, checking in with you, and seeing your smiling faces. I love the chance that you give me to be creative when you ask me to pick something new for your family. However, for many of my clients, they watch my page for months or sometimes even years before they go for it and schedule a session. This short blog is for you, dear new customers. I want you to feel confident and excited when you arrive for your session. So here is a little idea of how it works. I like to take a full set of photographs at each location so that you have coordinating pictures that can be displayed together on your living-room walls. I have been to this specific location about 50 times. I love it, but on the evening that these were taken, I was looking for something new when I noticed this awesome frame behind the family. See it?? These little details, much like the perfectly coordinated outfits of this family, make me very very happy. In a family session, I like to take family photographs, sibling photographs, couples photographs, and individual photos of each child. So we took all of those shots in front of this beautiful metal building. A typical family session involves two different spots (or more if there is time) at one location. Ideally these images would be printed to be displayed together too. So we also took a full set of images with these beautiful lantana. (I wish that you could have seen the butterflies that night. They were amazing. But alas, I was chasing cute smiles and not butterflies on this specific evening). Some families like lifestyle photographs where everyone is interacting with each other, laughing, or playing and I take those when it seems to suit the family's personality like this awesome family. Aren't they wonderful? So that is it. You don't need to know how to stand or where to stand. I will help you with all of that. Just show up, wear your cutest shoes, and let me work some creative magic!
I have been eager to share these photographs and this experience for a long while. Since Baby PD's birthday is days away, the time to share them in now... or a year ago, but now. ;) Anna Katherine asked me to photograph the birth of sweet baby PD at her maternity session. I was so excited at the thought. Since I have a young family of my own and since births cannot be scheduled, we agreed that I would be there if I could make it happen. I so desperately wanted to be there for this amazing moment that I kind of figured that it wouldn't work out - a too good to be true kind of thing. BUT IT DID WORK OUT!!! And it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. She texted me just as my husband was on his way home from the office and I tagged him in on my way out the door. I don't believe in coincidences so I know that this day was a gift. I made it to the hospital within minutes and THEY WOULDN'T LET ME IN. I called Anna Katherine's husband for the room number (AKA secret password), but he didn't answer, something about he was helping his wife who was having a baby. ;). I stood at the door thinking "I can't believe that all of the details have worked out and I made it, but I'm going to be standing outside this door when the baby arrives." So I pushed the call button and said lots of words that somehow got me in the delivery room before the baby arrived. Thank. Goodness. Anna Katherine was amazing. Amazing. I just kept thinking, wow - she is so strong and incredible. And Jacob was her perfect match. They worked together like they had done it dozens of times before. When Baby PD arrived, joy filled the room, from Anna Katherine's eyes to Jacob's to mine... do you know how hard it is to take photographs through tears?!! Amazing. It was amazing. So much happiness! And Baby PD was perfection! And he was immediately adored. Anna Katherine and Jacob, thank you for inviting me into this breathtaking, overwhelmingly wonderful event. It was such a privilege to be welcomed into your hospital room to capture these moments. I will treasure these memories for forever! It was one of the best days of my life. All of these photographs were approved to share by the mama. Please know that Parrish Photography respects the privacy of families and I would never share anything that would make the mama/ family/ model uncomfortable. -Billy xx
|
AuthorBilly Aaland-Parrish, Owner and Photographer at Parrish Photography Archives
October 2018
Categories
All
|