People often ask me, “what do you do”? My standard response is that I am a portrait photographer. That typically leads to what kind of photographer are you? Do you photograph weddings, or families or something along those lines. I tell them, while my passion is definitely kids and their families, I love photographing all people. Take the beautiful Brittany for example. We met many years ago when she hired me to shoot her wedding. The great thing about Andy and Brittany’s wedding, was that I had a lot of advance notice. We spent time planning out a fun engagement session (still one of my all time favorites) and then by the time the wedding rolled around, we were old friends.
You may think the actual wedding was the end of this story, but we continued to keep in touch. I told her if she ever got pregnant, I would love to gift her a maternity session. Soon I got the call that Brittany and Andy were expecting their first baby and Brittany wanted to incorporate vintage airplanes into a photography session. The best part was that she scouted the location, got the permits to me and got the session all set up.
That brings me to today. Brittany became a makeup artist and has been working with Blue Sky’s for over a year providing beautiful “Model for A Day” sessions, wedding makeup and makeup for my family clients. Her sweet, warm personality is a perfect addition to our Blue Sky’s staff family. And as many of you already know, she is expecting baby number two and I am so fortunate to get to photograph this beauty once again.
For this session we decided to create images of her alone that were more glamorous, but we didn’t forget to include the boys as well! Here is the sneak peak at the session. Enjoy!
Know Your Best Side. Most of us do not have perfectly symmetrical faces and we usually prefer one side over the other. If you don’t know which is your “good side,” take a few moments to look in the mirror. Look a little to the left, then to the right. Which side is your favorite? Need help deciding? Try taking a selfie, just remember to do it with your front facing camera, or you will have a flipped mirror image of your face.
Barbie Arm. If your girlfriends haven’t let you in on this trick it just might change your photo world. ;) To avoid your arms looking larger than life (an oh-so-common complaint), hold your hand on your hip and bend your elbow slightly toward the back. This creates a nice slimming effect which utilizes the white space between your body and arm.
Mind Your Assets. Push your assets to the back (ladies, that means booty and hips). The other leg (the one closest to the camera) should be slightly bent. You do this by putting your weight on the foot that is farthest from the camera and push your front hip away from the camera. This causes you to lean a little towards the camera so the eyes are the closest thing to the lens! It always looks lovely.
Lean In. If you lean forward a little bit (not too much), with shoulders back, it can define the chin, elongate the neck, highlight the eyes, and allows your hair to fall forward over your shoulders, creating a stunning feminine look.
Wait for it. To get a more authentic, natural smile, wait until just before snapping the picture. Holding a smile fatigues your facial muscles, so take breaks between shots. Even better, when it’s time to smile, if you can think of a favorite thing, something that naturally makes you happy, hold that thought while you show your pearly whites.
Hair. Try different hair styles ahead of time to determine which look best on you–the ones that really compliment your face and body: hair down, behind one shoulder, all forward, swept up, whichever it is play up your best look, by posing not only your face and body, but your hair as well.
