Family Holiday Raleigh Photographer - What should we wear?

Every year the number one question when clients book their holiday session is "What should we wear?" That's always a hard question to answer because there are so many options depending on your family's style and personality. Here is my short list of tips to get you thinking while you are planning outfits for your upcoming session.

#1 Comfort
Pick something you are comfortable in. Dress like you normally would just add a little punch. In your session you won't photograph well all stiff and unnatural so don't show up in high heels and fancy dresses or suit and tie. Pick something you can move in. There won't be too much posing when we shoot. To get those real emotions out we'll be playing around, laying on the ground, getting on each others back, having fun. So with that said I always recommend casual! Especially for kids. Believe me I've seen kids come alive and happy once they've taken their formal attire off!

#2 Color
Add color! I find photos with colorful outfits stand out much more. So don't hesitate to add some color to your wardrobe. You don't have to match everyone, simply coordinate colors. I suggest first picking out the kid's outfits and then pulling colors from theirs to dress the adults.

#3 Layers/Textures
Layers and textures add dimension and appeal to photos. Mix and match jackets, sweaters, and scarves. Its also a great idea to plan for layers as we never know in the Fall what kind of weather we're going to run into. One thing's for certain a cold child is never a happy child.

# 4
Accessories
Fun accessories like hats, jewelry, tights, tutus, funky shoes, boots etc. liven up the photo and add character to your family's photos.

Here is the core of my family's wardrobe. I have two days before the shoot to finish up the accessories, find boots for us, tights and one more scarf for my girls, jewelry for me,maybe a hat for my husband? Guys are always the hardest to accessorize : ) At least I got him wearing purple this year, love it! Oh and we all still need haircuts and some discussion about whether or not to include our crazy dogs. I'm really not use to being on the other side of the camera can you tell?

Raleigh Baby Photographer | Jackson Six Month Old

Little,big man, Jackson came to see me the other day. I had so much fun as always with this family capturing his six month baby milestone. I first photographed Jackson as a newborn, then again at three months, boy is he growing fast!
Here are a few of my favorite things about Jackson:
his blue eyes.
his long eyelashes.
his beaming smile.
his two adorable dimples.
He'll be melting hearts with these in no time.

Facebook Fresh Faces Winners - Raleigh Cary Baby Newborn Photographer

These sisters won our facebook fresh faces contest recently for our baby and toddler categories. They braved the hurricane this morning to come over for their FREE shoot. With daughters the same age difference myself I have a soft spot for this family.
In May I took Nora's newborn photos. You can see that she was born with those adorable curls
Today was the first time I had met her older sister Frankie. She was so well behaved for a toddler, she didn't tear down my backdrops or knock over my lights : ) She didn't even attempt to try to leave the studio. As long as we let her have her lollipop she was game for anything.
At twenty months & five months old they sure gave us a run for our money. Normally I would prefer to chase a toddler around outside to capture their true personality but with a sister that couldn't yet sit up and of course a hurricane outside we made the best of it inside with these two little sweeties : )

"hey you no more photos!"

i have a bunch of props in studio for the toddlers but they always seem to prefer my ladder which i normally use to stand on when i shoot. I'm a firm believer in keep them happy, let them do what they want. It actually works pretty well!



I love this one...hello world!

Sisterly Love - Raleigh Family & Child Photography

Playing catch up today, these are way overdue! Had a great time spending one hot, sticky morning at the Raleigh Rose Garden with 3 beautiful sisters.

They were so photogenic to say the least, and even posed sometimes on their own. Of course we had to get a little silly and capture some of their true personalities.

Baby Sara - Raleigh,Cary Newborn Photography

Friday I spent the afternoon with Baby Sara on her front porch. The light was perfect, the weather was cooler and breezy, so I decided to do the whole session there.



Baby S was 17 days old, suprisingly that is on the older side for a newborn session. She was exhausted the whole time I was there but I soon discovered she was a very light sleeper, (poor Mommy!)
She fought her sleep at first which was ok with me because then I got to hold and soothe her longer. Who cares about the time when you're dealing with such a sweet, soft, little angel? A few hundred tush pats, shushes and laps around the porch and she was out,cold!



beautiful rosy lips, and loved the way she slept with her feet together

A big smile while dad was holding her...


another smile for big sis(only 17 mths old herself!). Mom has her hands full but I reassured her as my girls are only 14mths apart that its the best way to do it!

precious...

3 Monkeys and a Dog - Raleigh Family Photography

Last night I spent time with this energetic blue, blue, blue-eyed family




At 5, 7, and 9 they were full of spunk and really excited about our photo session. As I usually do with kids their age, I let them come up with their own pose ideas. Playing our game of my pose, their pose, we ended up capturing some great shots,a bunch displaying their personalities and spirit and a few posed ones for grandma and suitable for the wall. Oh yeah and we even got a few with their adorable pup Lily. She was surprisingly well-trained for her young age, and easily bribed with a few treats. Way to go guys, Mom should be proud!




A quick Monkey outfit change for some swinging fun!