I was delighted when my friend S asked me to take some photos of her and her daughter to send to her husband, who is currently deployed. S is due with baby #2 soon and wanted to send some maternity photos to the proud pappa! We met one afternoon at a park in Carlsbad and had some fun!
I can’t wait for Miss L to meet her new baby sister!
xoxo, Lauren
I know some of you saw my last post about volunteering with HeartsApart.org. Working with the organization has been awesome, so I’m really excited to share a few photos from a recent family session I did for HeartsApart. We started off in the studio before heading down to Oceanside Pier and beach for some fun!
Their son had a blast once we let him throw some sand around!
Thank you to this family for allowing me to spend some precious pre-deployment time with you! And thank you to HeartsApart.org for organizing these amazing photo sessions!
xoxo, Lauren
I was SO excited when I got an email from Jim, asking if he could arrange a portrait session for his wife’s birthday! I met Jim and Lauren a little over a year ago when I saw Lauren in a Texas A&M t-shirt outside of the exchange at Camp Pendleton. I happened to be talking to another Aggie at the moment, so we took it upon ourselves to go say HOWDY!
I was lucky enough to photograph a maternity session for the two of them before little N was born last April, so I was especially excited to photograph the family of three. We met up at the Pier in Oceanside and enjoyed a morning on the beach before N decided it was meal time. :) Here are a handful of my favorites!
Have a great week!
xoxo, Lauren
Hi All!
As you probably know, I’m mentoring a group of San Diego photographers who have signed up for Photosanity, an online workshop that helps parents take better photos as well as get a handle on organizing, editing, and sharing them! In previous posts, I’ve covered what to look for to get the best photos and tips to capture natural eye contact and smiles. This week’s lesson is about making the most from the light you have.
One of the first things you’ll learn about photographing in natural light is that the best light for photographs can be found within the first and last hours of daylight. That’s when the sun is closest to the horizon, and the layers of atmosphere diffuse the sun’s rays, producing gorgeously soft light. The hour before sunset even has a special name–the “golden hour”–because the light tends to be deliciously warm, soft, and forgiving. Seriously, it’s a portrait photographer’s dream! (It’s true–contrary to popular belief, bright sunlight is not good for photos! I have no clue how that myth even got started!)
But what happens when you have an event planned at a time other than dusk or dawn? Or what about those times when you’re out making memories with your family at high noon? Well, we have to learn to deal with those lighting situations as well. There are several tactics I usually employ to tackle challenging light, but let’s talk about one for now: find shade!
This is pretty easy. If you’re out at a park, go under the nearest tree. Or find an umbrella. Or a building. Or something. Trees are usually most abundant, and provide really nice light! Here are some examples I captured at one of last year’s photo sessions under the shade of a nearby structure or tree.
Gorgeous, huh? :)
And, if you can’t battle the sun, at least play nice, eh? Another tactic is to embrace the harsh sun, head-on. And get some gorgeous flare as a result! For this photo, I was shooting towards the sunlight, but metering for my subject, and I allowed the sun to hit my lens for the flare.
I’ll be blogging about future workshop lessons so make sure you “like” me on Facebook to get the latest updates! In the meantime, you can also check out the free Photosanity video lesson on the top 5 tips to take better photos of your kids!!
xoxo, Lauren
Hi All!
As you probably know, I’m mentoring a group of San Diego photographers who have signed up for Photosanity. It’s an online workshop that helps parents take better photos as well as get a handle on organizing, editing, and sharing them! You saw a post about the first week’s lesson on the five triggers here. This week’s lesson is filled with lots of tips and strategies on how to get your children to cooperate in front of the camera. I hear it’s not an easy task! :) The lesson is filled with all kinds of tips and strategies. I’m going to share a couple tips I like to use to capture natural eye contact and smiles!
I mentioned Sophie’s story when I was interviewed for the NestingNYC blog as part of my mentorship with Photosanity:
Little Sophie was taking a while to get warmed up to me, so I asked her to help me get her mommy and daddy to smile at the camera. She was a fantastic assistant! When I showed her the image I captured of her parents, she had a huge smile on her face! I told her it was her turn, and I was able to catch this precious shot.
So, my first tip is to get your child involved in the photography process! Perhaps you have another child (or friend or spouse or pet) that you can use as a subject for a few moments while your child is playing around or otherwise not paying attention. Not only is it a great opportunity for you to capture him while he’s in his own world, but you can quickly call his name to snap an image while he’s looking right at you with that inquisitive eye.
Another tip is to keep them occupied with something else. I took this photo at a recent session that we did right before Valentine’s Day. I took along some of my mini red heart cookies and had Lena hold one for a couple shots. She was more interested in eating it than in holding it for a photo, so, in this image, she’s pulling the cookie up to her mouth, as if she’s about to take a bite! Her mom and I kept saying that she could have it once we got the photo we wanted, so I love the little smirk she’s giving since she knew she wasn’t supposed to eat it. :) And don’t worry–we let her chow down right after this shot!
I’ll be blogging about future workshop lessons so make sure you “like” me on Facebook to get the latest updates! In the meantime, you can also check out the free Photosanity video lesson on the top 5 tips to take better photos of your kids!!
xoxo, Lauren
