Photography Sessions Involving Children

Are you bringing your child in for a portrait session?  If so, here are some useful tips to help ensure the best results
from your child’s portrait session:

A)  If your child is at all shy, please be patient.  We give them as much time as they (not you or I) need to warm up to me and my
camera.  It is very rare that even the most apprehensive child doesn’t become my buddy after 20-30 minutes.  Eager to please,
many parents urge their child(ren) on, and this rarely ever helps.  Please allow us to create a bond with your child at their pace
(Most parents know this, and agree, but ultimately need to be reminded of this 2-4 times during the first five minutes of the
portrait session).  Please give us a little space with your child so they do not feel as though they have to “preform” for you with us.
It’s also best to try to keep the ‘variations’  (i.e. attire and poses, etc) during the session to a minimum.  We will always start with the
most important poses and attire (i.e. child alone, child with sibling, child with mom/dad/grandparents, child with any special
outfits, etc etc…’you get the picture’).  Children, especially younger ones, can only tolerate a limited amount of time to pose and
stay still for photographs, so it is important to get the key shots initially and quickly.

 

B)  Please do not answer for your child when we ask him or her a question. We try to bond with them by getting them to talk to us.
Often times, we will reach out to “test” your child(ren) to see how they will respond.  Depending on their reaction (if they reach
back to hold a hand/finger), it shows us if we are gaining their trust yet.  We like to take time to get to know your child and let them
get used to us before we start shooting.

 

C)  Please please please do not tell your child(ren) to “smile”.   That’s our job.  Besides, “cheese” or “smile”  is almost always a fake or
forced smile.  We will get your child(ren) to smile by other measures that create real smiles such as goofy faces, funny stories, talking
up their interests, etc…you know, kid stuff!!  We’re great at kid stuff (we’re kids at heart)!

 

D)  We encourage any ideas or props in your session, so have fun with it and get creative!  Many parents bring in 1-3 outfits and
various accessories such as hats, scarves and jewelry.  However, it’s important to keep in mind that changing multiple outfits on
younger children usually changes their moods too.  We recommend keeping it simple for the younger subjects.  They grow up so
fast!

Project 3/ 50- Saving the Brick and Motar our Nation is Built on!

I feel really fortunate to live and work in Laguna Beach!  One of the things I really love about Laguna is the eclectic vibe of downtown!  There aren’t too many places in Orange County anymore that have a really great shopping and eating area that is unique.  That is why I have gotten involved with several other locally owned business to promote the 3 50 project.  Here is what it is in a nutshell:

3 stand for: What 3 independently owned businesses would you miss if they disappeared?  Stop in, Say hello (or in my case, e-mail me) pick up something that makes you smile!   Your purchases are what keeps those businesses around!

50 stands for-  If half the employed population spent $50 each month in locally owned, independent businesses, it would generate more that $42.5 billion in revenue.  Image the jobs and benefits it would bring to our hometowns.

For every $100 dollars spent in a local, independently owned business, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures.

It only takes one person to start a trend and that is you!  Help Blue Sky’s Studio, Little, Fairytales and Little Bohemian start a trend in our hometowns to encourage everyone to support our local businesses.

Here are a few great shots from our “Support Local Businesses” photoshoot!  Enjoy:

Welcome to Clicking with Kristin

Thanks for taking the time to check out our new BLOG filled with everything Blue Sky’s!   We love sharing images from your shoots, little stories, recipes, experiences and advise on becoming a better photographer.  We also love to brag about other businesses and encourage you to check out all the wonderful things they have to offer.  Sooo, we decided to go bigger and better with our new blog.  You will get to experience much bigger images from your sessions and we really want to make this a more personal experience for everyone in our Blue Sky’s family.  We encourage you to leave comments and suggestions, or to just say hi and tell us about your experience with our Blue Sky’s photographers.   We will keep our “specials” section up to date, so check back often.

I know this sounds kind of corny, but I truly believe this is my purpose in life.  I love capturing those intimate moments between couples, the giggles of a toddler, the wonder of a new baby, laughter between siblings, the beauty of pregnancy and all of those moments in between that make up relationships.  I am so thankful that I have found my passion in life, but none of this would be possible without all of your support.  I truely thank all of you with all my heart for supporting Blue Sky’s!