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This blog features post six days a week. We focus on helping family portrait photographers with motivation, technique, interviews every Friday, stories from our studio, how to's, business advice, etc. If you are interested in family portrait photogra
Recent Posts Tagged With 'studio'
Do you even like kids!?!
I have to ask this. Do you even like kids? All you mommies with cameras who think you want to photograph kids! I see so many photostreams on flickr of moms (and dads) who want to be photographers and almost every shot is a portrait (or snapshot) of t...
Happy Valentine’s Day - Show your customers some love!
Want to make an impact on your customers? Try doing something special for them on Valentine’s Day. I always think it’s a fantastic idea to do small things for your customers after the fact. Not huge things, but simple gestures that will m...
So you’re thinking about going into business for yourself?
I am just going to throw a list of stuff together that you should do if you are considering going into a photography business for yourself. A condensed list of things you ought to do if you are considering being an independent portrait photographer. ...
Spotlight interview with Lindsay Silsby from Pied Piper Photography
I remember stumbling upon Pied Piper’s flickr photostream and thinking to myself how cute her portraits were. I also remember thinking that her use of textures in layers were wonderful and that it was very fitting for her portraiture. You see m...
Top twenty “must haves” when photographing children
The following list are must haves when photographing children. Some are good to have with other groups and ages as well, but the following list are good things to always have on you when having a session with children because they can make your job m...
Thinking outside the box… ur, studio
Though I am sure it’s been done before, recently I’ve seen some fine examples of portraits that I feel are very creative and outside the box. There is one specific idea that I have seen and want to talk about today. That is using furnitur...
Spotlight interview with Teddy Madison from Exodus Photography
Recently while on flickr, I noticed a shot of young child called “$ on my chest“. I instantly fav’d it. It was so creative and cool. Something fresh that you don’t see everyday. What I mean is that it was something that I don&...
Check out our Archives Section!
I realize that many of our readers have probably checked out our “Archives” section located at the top of our blog in the header, but for those that haven’t, check out our Archives. I have let it go but recently updated it. What I&#...
Dead Puppies
Dead puppies… now that sounds morbid, doesn’t it? Believe it or not, my customers think it’s pretty funny. They think it’s funnier than saying “cheese”. I do too, but that is, in context, which I will explain in just a sec...
Ten ways to get your subjects to relax for you
Ever have problems getting your subjects to relax? Here’s a quick list of ten different groups and ways you can get all of them to loosen up a bit. After years of photographing each of these, I have learned what it takes to get each to relax for me...
Just tell us what you want!
Suggestions, I’m taking suggestions! I’m taking time today to tell all our readers that we really appreciate all the time that you guys take to read our blog and comment when you do. We spend many hours each week preparing blog posts that...
Kissing Siblings
Anyone who is a parent of more than one child, whose children are fairly close in age know that it is inevitable, their children usually kiss each other. It’s natural and shows the loving affection they have for one another. In fact, our son Mo...
Intuition - an important key to perfecting portrait photography
Do you ever feel like you have difficulty portraying your subjects appropriately or in such a way that really shows off their true personality? If so, you are not alone, but in reality, you will have to learn this ability if you are to become a succe...
Spotlight interview with Diana Fisk from DandelionSky Photography
A few months ago while looking around flickr, I found a photographer that goes by “Dandelion Sky“. I was very impressed and amused by her work. I found her work to be beautiful, dramatic, family centered yet eccentric. I was captivated. I...
Fifteen things you need for a great senior portrait - #4 - Excellent Technicals
This is one of those things that should go without saying but it needs to be said because of the fact that without it, there are not good portraits. Without the fundamentals of good technical work, there is no room or way you can have beautiful, arti...
Talk, Talk, Talk
Do you ever feel like photographing a subject is awkward? Like there is uncomfortable silence between you and the subject? That’s why it’s important to talk to your subject! While you are photographing your subject, constant encouragement and pra...
Fifteen things you need for a great senior portrait - #3 - Good Pose
Imagine for a minute with me. An older teen boy or girl leaning on a tree or perhaps hugging the tree and peeking around from behind and smiling at the camera with a big happy grin on their face. We have all seen this, haven’t we? Tell me if ...
Spotlight interview with Alecia Silva from The Portrait Place
I have been spending some time on Flickr lately. In my time there, I have found some amazing photographers. One of these photographers I found recently was Alecia Silva who has a portrait photo business called “The Portrait Place”. Her ph...
Quick tip for getting kids to look excited in their portraits
Believe it or not, Barney, yes Barney, still works wonders. It’s a trick that a master children’s photographer showed me recently. His technique worked wonders on the three and four year olds he had in front of him. If you get any kid to ...
A thought about how you pose families
Many of my readers are parents. For those that are, we all know how much we love our children. We know when our customers come in our doors that if they are parents themselves, they too love their children. This post will briefly examine the idea of ...
Pomeranian Power!
Have you ever met a Pomeranian? They are cute little hairy dogs that have small faces. They are usually half the size of what they look like because their hair is so fluffy that if you were to shave it off or even just wet them down, they would shrin...
Ask The Peterson’s - Question about photographing overweight subjects
Recently we received a question about photographing overeweight people. It was a fantastic question that deserves an answer and makes a great post. Thanks Tim for the great question. I thought it would make a good question for “Tuesday’s...
Granny’s Bling
I have to tell you a quick and cute little story. A couple years ago, the term bling was being used quite a bit in urban diction. But inevitably, most things that are used in the ghetto soon make it out to the pop culture which in turn makes its roun...
Spotlight Interview with Kelley Ryden from Kelley Ryden Photography
All babies are beautiful. - Jeanne Calment Thinking back to the first time I saw Kelley’s work on flickr, I distinctly remember sitting there in awe. Her work was simple. It was beautiful. It was amazing. I could go on for ever, but what really...
