There are many things that when brought together, make your baby's
portrait be as beautiful and natural as he or she is.
THE
SMILE
Natural smiles are always better than fake or cheesy smiles. A real
smile makes the eyes sparkle, dimples show, and the face just glows.
To get a natural smile, the photographer can't tell a baby, child,
or even adult to "smile" or "say 'cheese.'" The photographer needs
to make sure the baby and other people in the photograph are
comfortable, relaxed, and having fun. Then they will smile
naturally. Babies smile most often in response to be being talked to
and played with. A photographer who doesn't recognize this or won't
interact with the baby won't likely get a natural smile or
expression.
Smiles are not always important to have a beautiful portrait of your
baby. No one smiles all of the time, but everyone has other natural
expressions which are cute, adorable or funny. These expressions
often are a window into the person's true personality and when
photographed, capture the person's personality. A photographer who
will work with your baby to get these natural expressions and be
willing to photograph them will help you capture who your baby is,
not just what he looks like.
THE
POSES
Whatever your baby does naturally will make the best poses for them.
If your baby can't sit up yet, he still does things that are
natural. When on his back he probably waves his arms and kicks his
legs or holds them up in the air. When he is on his tummy he may
push up and look around. Lying on his stomach or his back would be
natural poses for him.
Being held by his mother or father would be natural for your baby.
Your photographer should have you hold your baby in a way that you
would naturally hold him: on your shoulder, cuddled in your arms,
sitting or standing on your lap facing you. Your baby will feel
uncomfortable if held in a strange position or even on the opposite
side from which you normally hold him.
When your child gets a little bigger and is able to sit, crawl or
stand, allowing him to sit the way he or she does normally will give
a much more natural photograph. Trying to get a toddler to cross her
legs, put her hands in her lap, or sit up straight is frustrating
for the child, the parent and the photographer. Little children
don't do that naturally so it looks awkward in the photographs.
A
photographer who will work with your baby to allow free natural
movements instead of trying to force him or her into set poses will
be able to take more natural photographs for you.
THE
PROPS
What are your baby's favorite things? Is there a special blanket,
doll, stuffed toy, ball, book, chair, stool, riding toy, paper bag,
pan lid, pair of shoes? What does your child enjoy?
The best choice of props for a photograph are ones that portray your
baby's personality and that your baby is fond of, or that will tell
a story about him, or that are family heirlooms.
The prop should be small enough not to overpower your baby in the
photograph. To make the portrait have a timeless look the prop
should match the color and style of clothing.
Many photographers have props that they will use with your baby, but
being able to use your own props will make the portraits more
personal and special.
THE
CLOTHING
The most important thing about clothing when you want to get a
beautiful baby or child's portrait is that the clothes be
comfortable. Itchy, stiff, tight, hot, or restrictive clothing,
shoes, or hats or head bands will only make your child uncomfortable
and irritable. You may want your child to wear dressy clothes, but
make sure the clothes are comfortable. Play clothes will allow your
child to be more natural.
Solid colored clothes always photograph best, whether it is on a
baby, a child, or an adult. This is because when a person looks at a
photograph their eye is drawn to whatever is different or contrasts
with the rest of the photograph. If the clothing is striped, or
flowered, or plaid, or has a design on it that will create contrast,
it will cause the viewer to see the clothing before they see the
baby or their expression. It is often hard to find clothing
that is solid colored for a baby or child, but it is well worth it.
Solid colored clothing will add a timeless quality to your baby's
portraits.
The color of the clothing should be one that is flattering to your
baby's skin, hair and eye colors. The clothing colors should also
coordinate or compliment the colors in the room in which the
portrait will hang. To determine how the colors will look in the
room you can lay the clothes out on the sofa, bed, etc. in the room
to see how they will look.
An
outfit that Grandma bought your baby may be really cute, but it
won't always be the best to take photographs in. Of course, if you
want to, your photographer should be willing to take a few of
photographs in the outfit Grandma bought anyway.
THE
LOCATION
The best location for a portrait is one where your baby will feel
comfortable. Studio portraits can be very nice for young babies,
especially all white or pastel portraits that reflect their
innocence and angelic qualities.
When your baby starts to crawl and walk there are many things which
may distract him in a studio, like the lights and props which are
not being used. With an active or inquisitive toddler it often
becomes hectic for the parents and photographer to keep him within
the confines of the studio background and lights. It is also very
frustrating for the baby to not be allowed to explore because
someone wants his photograph taken. Instead, taking your little
one's portrait in an outdoor location like your yard or favorite
park will allow him freedom of movement and exploration because
suddenly the whole area becomes a background and he no longer has to
be restricted to just one spot. He will be more relaxed and have
more fun.
When you are choosing a location for your baby's portrait there are
several things to consider: where your portrait will hang and what
will look good in that room; what location will look good with the
clothing (if clothing is chosen first); what location might help
tell a story about your child; and will your child feel comfortable
in that location.
THE
BACKGROUND
The background in a portrait should not be the first thing you see.
Your baby and his expression should be the main focal point. Since
the eye is drawn to the part of the portrait that has the most
contrast, you will probably want that to be your baby's face. The
best way to do this is to have the clothing and background colors be
similar to each other, or have the clothes and background be similar
in light and darkness. Then what will be different is your baby's
face, so you will see it first.
Another option is to have the background opposite of the clothing.
Then both your baby and his clothes will stand out. You should let
your photographer know your preferences.
Backgrounds can be similar or dissimilar from the clothing whether
the portraits are taken in a studio, outside or in a home.
THE
TIME OF DAY
The time of day your baby's portrait is taken is very crucial to
obtaining a beautiful portrait. Of most importance is scheduling the
portrait session at a time when your baby is usually happy. Then, be
flexible. Babies sense when something is up and often on portrait
day their schedules change. They don't eat, sleep or get happy at
the same time that they have been doing. A photographer who is
flexible enough during the session to let you feed, change, cuddle,
or walk your baby around to cheer him up will be very helpful in
producing the portraits you want. Also, your photographer should be
willing to reschedule your baby's portrait session on short notice
because your baby isn't feeling well or is off "schedule."
NOT
HUNGRY OR SLEEPY
Babies and children who are hungry or sleepy, will not be in their
best mood for having photographs taken. Always take time to feed
your child before the session rather than making them wait until
afterwards. Also, have an extra bottle or snack (uncolored cereals
work well) with you at the session in case your baby or child gets
hungry again. Taking photographs causes little ones to be more
hungry, thirsty, and tired than ordinarily.
PLANNING
THE PORTRAITS
As you
can well imagine by now, beautiful baby portraits don't just happen.
The props, clothing, location, background, time of day, etc. all
need to be planned to best suit your baby and what you want the
portrait to look like. Your photographer should give you suggestions
on the best ways to get what you want. If you are not sure what you
want, your photographer should be able to make suggestions and show
you samples to give you ideas.
Your
photographer should also learn something about your baby or child's
personality what makes them happy or sad or excited. This will
help him or her capture your baby's personality in the portrait.
A
photographer who isn't willing to take the time to plan your baby's
photographs with you, or listen to your ideas probably won't create
the kind of portraits of your baby that you will really love.
Contact
us NOW to
Schedule Your FREE, NO-OBLIGATION Planning Session
and to Schedule your Portrait Session: email:
tom@teimages.com
or call 530-661-7507.
We have several different Session Fees and Minimum Purchase Fees
depending on how many photographs need to be taken to accomplish
what you want for your portraits. If more than one session time is
needed to accomplish your needs, then more than one Fee is charged.
HOLIDAY MINIMUM. There is a $500 Minimum Purchase Fee for
Appointments on holidays that does go towards your portraits.
RESCHEDULING OR
CANCELING
If for some reason you need to Reschedule your appointment
time, your Session Fee, can reserve a new appointment if we get 24
hours notice of the change. With less than 24 hours notice, the Fee
will be forfeited because we turn down other appointments at your
time and may not be able to fill your appointment on such short
notice.
If you wish to Cancel your appointment, we will refund
your one half of you Fee, if we get 72 hours (3 days) notice of the
cancellation.
PAYMENT FLEXIBILITY
I accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover,
cash, checks, and personalized layaway plans. With a personalized
layaway you pay 10% or more down and a payment at least every 30
days. You decide how long you want your layaway to be, thereby
determining the amount of your payments. Your portraits are ordered
from the lab when you make your final payment. If you want unique,
personalized portraits, then I want to help you get them.
Contact
us NOW to
Schedule Your FREE, NO-OBLIGATION Planning Session
and to Schedule your Portrait Session.
Travel We are very happy to travel outside of the Woodland area to
do a portrait.
Travel Fees apply as follows:
·For locations within ½ hour drive of Woodland, no
travel fee.
·For locations within one hour drive of Woodland, a
$50 travel fee applies
·For locations within two to three hours driving of
Woodland, a $100 travel fee.
Our Products...
We offer a number of products
including extremely high quality photographic enlargements, canvas
photographic prints, multiple image collages and hand-bound
photographic albums.
Enlargements Final enlargements are printed by a professional photographic
lab. Our loose prints up to 8x10 come unmounted. However, all prints
11x14 or larger are mounted onto archival, acid free artist mat board
for presentation and framing. We also offer mounting on foamcore and
prints on canvas and stretchers.
Collages Let us create a unique, custom multiple image collage of
images for you! Once printed and framed, this will make a truly
impressive showpiece for your walls at home or the office.
Albums Our custom designed albums are truly our centerpiece items.
These are hand crafted, custom albums that are designed to
last a lifetime as a keepsake.
Prints – Color or Black & White
4x6 - $5.00
5x7 - $15.00
8x10 - $20.00
Deluxe Finished Prints – Color or Black & White
(Retouching Included)
