I had the opportunity to photograph this baby before she was born (her mother's maternity session), and I was so excited and honored that her parents decided to hire me for their baby's first photo session!   

I loved being able to work with this little girl and her parents again.  She definitely made me work hard but it was well worth it!  

We tried out a few traditional newborn/baby poses with her in a wine crate and in a bucket.  But I think my favorites are those of her with her parents.  We also had some great natural light coming into the house, which I supplemented with a studio light that I brought with me.

www.thealbumcafe.com

It just wouldn't be the holidays with out our furry family members.  

Being in Florida, it can be a little difficult to represent winter in your photos.  In Florida, we start to get cold when the weather dips into the 70s but it still looks like Spring or Summer. So for the pups' holiday session I decided to use winter hats I found at Target with a simple string of white lights.  

It's hard enough to get dogs to sit still on their own let alone when you put hats on them.  So I put the pugs on a barstool, which is a trick I used to help them sit still.  Please keep in mind that they were supervised, so if they did decide to jump someone would be there to stop/catch them.  

Today I wanted to feature some of my clients from a two recent holiday sessions.  These families wanted some Christmasy options for their holiday cards.  So I came prepared with a few themed props.  Now, don't feel like you have to have themes or props for your photo sessions, but they can be fun to add into the mix.  Props can work really well with younger kids because it gives them something to do and can help shy kids open up a little more easily.  Sometimes, it can even get the more stoic kids to smile!

The little girl in this first set of photos was a little more reserved and didn't smile as easily as some kids.  She really did like mashing her face up to my lens though...until she saw the cookies.

Nothing says Christmas like a toddler trying to decide which chocolate chip cookie to eat first!

In this next set of photos we had two brothers who I think really just wanted to wrestle the whole time.  I had to be patient and use a high shutter speed with these two because they were really energetic.  But I got some great candids and I hear they got ice cream after they were done.

Tell us a little about yourself...

So I thought I'd do something a little different this week, and share what I do when I'm not taking your portraits or editing your photographs. Free time is starting to become a foreign word to me.  But when I have it, I love to travel even if it's just to a different city in Florida.  This year I've been fortunate enough to visit several national parks.  And this year was the National Park Service's 100 year anniversary, so a perfect time to hit the highlights!  If you want to see more photos of my adventures, follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emily_kistler/

Earlier in the year, we hit parks in Oregon and Washington: Crater Lake, Mount St. Helens, Mount Rainier, Olympic National Park, North Cascades, and San Juan Island!  I know what you're thinking, "San Juan Island, isn't that in Puerto Rico?"  No, San Juan Island is actually located off of Washington state and Canada.  I know, I was a little suspicious at first too.

Crater Lake in May.  There was over 6 feet of snow in May!

View of the base of Mount St. Helens.

North Cascade National Park.  There wasn't much snow here but it was really cold!

Old growth forest in Olympic National Park.

Dark-eye Junco posing for me on San Juan Island.

Path at the American Camp on San Juan Island.  San Juan Island National Park is divided into the American Camp and the English Camp, and there's a whole story about a fight involving a pig.  

Oh I just want digital files, no prints.  So this topic came up in conversation with a client the other day.  And unless you're a photographer or some lost of your precious photos, it's probably not something you've really thought about.  These are some reasons I think it's important to print your photos.  It may not change your mind right now, but hopeful it'll stop and make you think about all the digital photos you've accumulated.

Reason #1:

Digital files don't last forever.

If you're old enough to remember regularly using a film camera, then you always printed your photos!   But with the advent of digital cameras and smart phones, it doesn't seem as important anymore.  After all, we can just save them up on our computer, post them on Facebook and Instagram, and they'll always be available, right?  Well maybe not... Digital files don't last forever.  Have you have saved a document on your computer only to come back later and find it's "corrupted"?  Or smart phone crashes and you weren't backing up your photos to the cloud properly.  Or, maybe your computer crashes and you can't recover anything on your hard drive?  And don't even get me started on technology changes.  Remember diskettes?  These things happen all the time.  They may never happen to you but I've experienced them all in my lifetime, either directly or through a relative.  

Granted prints are susceptible to their own problems, such as exposure to the sun or water.  But they're a lot easier to maintain.  Even if you decide you'd rather keep most of your photos digital, please save them in more than one location.  So that you always have at least one back up, especially for those photos that are very special to you.

Reason #2:

You're not just printing for yourself, you're also printing for your children and grandchildren.

But I don't even have kids yet, let alone grandchildren!  That's not what I meant.  What I mean is that you're printing photos so that future generations will be able to enjoy them.  Do you remember looking at old family photos with your parents and grandparents?  Do you remember how much fun it was to see them when they were younger?  How funny their hair looked and those clothes they were wearing?  Were you lucky enough to see your great-grandparents and possibly your great-great-grandparents?   If you don't print your photos, chances are the next generations of your family won't have that opportunity - see reason number 1.

Reason #3:

You just paid to have your portrait taken, why limit it to a tiny image on Facebook?

So you just paid to have your family portrait taken, what are you going to do with it?  Did you really just want to share it with your friends on Facebook?  Or do you want to hang some of the best photos on your walls, so that you can enjoy them with your family and show them off to your friends?  Your photos were meant to be enjoyed in a larger format and not just on the small screen!  

Reason #4:

Ok, so this one isn't a reason necessarily for just printing your photos.  It's more of a reason of why you should choose to have your photographer print your photos.  So yeah, you can print your photos at a drugstore, office supply company, and even bulk-discount stores.  But these places don't offer the same quality of prints.  They also don't offer the same range of products that photographers using professional printing services can.  Purchasing prints through your photographer also takes all the work off of you.  After all, that's why you hired me right?  That's especially true for albums, trust me on this one.  

Example #1: 

What I love about this: everything's so coordinated!  Dad's shirt really ties everything together with the yellow in his daughter's shirt, blue in her shorts, and blue in mom's dress.  His shirt even goes with the little girl's red shoes.  And I love the red shoes!  They give the photos just a pop of color and make it a little bit more interesting.  We've also got patterns with dad's shirt and in the shoulder's of the girl's shirt.

Example #2:

What I love about this: this family kept it simple with only 2 colors and a little bit of pattern.  It also goes great with their chosen setting...the beach naturally!  This is Florida after all.  Another thing about these clothes is that the blue clothing really brought out everyone's blue eyes.  

A Day at the BeachYoung family visits the beach.

Example #3:

What I love about this: they all match, but in a good way!  So normally I don't like group photos where everyone matches, but this family did in a way that just made them look cool.  You'll notice that although their shirts and pants match, they've got enough difference to not make them look like they're wearing uniforms.

All in the FamilyFamily posing with their dog in Florida Park.

Example #4:

What I love about this: the pattern on her dress.  The pattern on her fits just fits so well with the leaves in the background and the tree she's leaning against but doesn't look like camouflage.  The setting for this photo was select beforehand but I love how it works with what she's wearing.  

So remember how I said that the beach is Florida's best place for an outdoor photo session?  Well these photos have me thinking differently!  Some of the things I love about Florida is all the nature, especially the Spanish moss and live oaks...although I'm not a fan of the tiny leaves they drop.  They make for a beautiful backdrop and especially when the light hits the trees just right.   

I met this family at local park with beautiful live oak trees and plenty of Spanish moss!  We hit the park at the right time of day for backlit photos and lens flare.  Love the lens flare!  I think JJ Abrams would be proud.  Hey JJ, if you're hiring, just know that I love lens flare too!  Yeah, you can add that in Photoshop but it's much better when you can get those result naturally.

www.thealbumcafe.com

One of the great things about living in Florida is how beautiful it is!  There are so many parks and outdoor locations for photo shoots, but the best is the beach, hands down.  Granted you might end up covered in sand by the end of the shoot like I was.  And that might mean that your house is full of sand, which it was...and still is.  But it's totally worth it!  

If you hit the beach at the right time, you can get great light, great skies, and fewer people on the beach.  When I met this family at the beach, I got all three.  Also, I have to say that they did a great job coordinating all the outfits!  Not only do the colors go great with each other but they are sooo fitting for the beach setting!

www.thealbumcafe.com

This couple didn't have the opportunity to take wedding photos, so their wedding anniversary was a chance to celebrate their relationship and show off their family.  Interacting with these two and you can tell how special their relationship is and how much they love each other.   Here's too many more years together!

www.thealbumcafe.com

I had the chance to photograph this family in Tampa, Florida.  This was a combination of a family portrait session and a maternity session.  

One of the requests for the shoot was to use a tin-can phone prop.  The mother had seen this prop used in other maternity photos and wanted to try it with her daughter.  Although we tried to convince her to try and give her new sister a ring, she wasn't quite sure what to make of the tin-can phone!  Even with dad's coaxing!  Still we ended up with some cute photos of her "investigating" this phone...not quite as cool as a smart phone.

Whether it's a photography session or you're a parent chasing around your kid with a smartphone, photographing toddlers can be a challenging experience.  But for all the effort it takes, it's worth it in the end when you get that perfect shoot!  Here are some tips to help you prepare for your toddler's photo session, so your photographer can get that perfect shot.

1) Don't expect your toddler to pose!

Have you seen any of my photos with toddlers and wondered how I got them to pose that way?  Yeah, I didn't try to have them pose!  That was a combination of patience, running around (on my part), and working with a fast shutter speed.  Toddlers tend to be go, go, go, so asking them to sit still isn't likely to happen for long.  If you want to have a family portrait, try it at the beginning of the session when your little one is feeling a little more shy.  Once they warm up to the photographer and the location, they're more likely to want to go exploring.

2) Props + toddler = good times

Props are a great way to bring out a toddler's personality!  But, not every prop will work for every kid.  Props are something you should  discuss with your photographer before the actual photo shoot: what types of props you want in the photos, what types of props your child will be interested in, and who is bringing what to the shoot.  I recommend bringing your child's favorite toy (or two) to a photo session as a backup in case the other props don't work.  

3) Playgrounds are where it's at!

One way to get a toddler more interested in a photo shoot, is to make it feel less like a photo shoot by holding it at playground.  This also works great if your child happens to be shy.  

4) Bring drinks and snacks!

You probably already know this one, but make sure to have drinks/snacks on hand.  Snacks can also be a great reward if you really want your toddler to do something, such as going over to a particular location, look at the camera, etc.  This isn't a guarantee that snacks will work as a reward, but it can work in some circumstances.

5) A tired toddler is a cranky toddler

Do your best to make sure your toddler is well rested and ready to go!  When you're scheduling the time of your photography session, keep in mind your toddler's ideal time - when he/she is happiest and most likely to be well rested.  Try and work with your photographer to schedule during this time.  But keep in mind that your photographer may not be able to schedule the session at the time you're requesting because of business hours, weather (Florida gets hotter later in the day), etc.

I've complied a few suggestions for what to wear.  Now this isn't all inclusive, but it's a start!  I've also included some photos to help demonstrate what I'm talking about.

1) The photo is about you and not your clothes.

Whether we're talking about an individual portrait or a family photo, it's best to stay away from graphic tees and neon colors!  While that Darth Vader sugar skull t-shirt is super awesome, it takes everyone eyes off your face.  Same goes for the neon colored shirt/pants/hat/you name it!

Look at these cute kids!  Oh wait, I can't.  I'm distracted by the tee and blinded by the neon!

2) Families and couples - coordinate and compliment!

If you're in a photo with someone else, try to either coordinate your colors or make sure they compliment.  That doesn't mean you have to go all 1990s everyone wearing matching black turtlenecks.  Instead, go with similar colors or even complimentary colors.  If you don't remember art class in elementary, complimentary colors are red-green, orange-blue, and yellow-purple.  

In this example, our lovely models demonstrate similar colors: black and gray.  And we even got a little bit of Star Wars in there with a Death Star polo! Afterall, having well coordinated outfits doesn't mean you can't have fun or show personality.

3) Patterns are cool!  Just don't go overboard.

Patterns are great!  Go for it!  Just remember that if the pattern is too much or too loud visually, it's going to take over the picture.  So, limit the number of people wearing the pattern!  Remember we're not going back to the '90s turtlenecks - unless you want a tongue-in-cheek holiday card - if so, contact me;)

Looks like these two are in love, right?  He's actually holding his hair in place with my head!

4) One light/bright, one dark!

Here's an interesting one I came across on the internet.  If you have someone in a bright shirt, have the other person in a darker color.  It can work for families, too.  Have some of the members in a brighter color and others in a a darker color.  

Ooo look, not only is one person in a bright color but they also have a pattern!  And here's another example.

And I know what you may be thinking.  But you never changed pants!  Well, that's part of our personality.  Ross is more of a cargo shorts kind of person, and I'm more jeans.  And, that brings me to my last point.

5) Ultimately, the photos are for you.  (Or maybe your parents - if you're a kid).

And, if your favorite photo is the one with the Dark Vader sugar skull tee and your spouse in a neon shirt, then that's great!  Clothing choices shouldn't be overwhelming, they should just compliment you and your personality.

Hope this helps and happy posing!

I've had the chance to photograph this little one three times now.  These photos are clearly from one of my shoots earlier this year - as you can tell by the sweater.  We here in central Florida don't have much of a winter, so February's about it for us!  

This one's an outdoor girl!  We tried indoors first but she wasn't having it.  It didn't matter though, because once outside her real personality came out and she had a blast running around and hiding behind a tree.  And then there were the swings.  But who can blame her because swings are the best - obviously!

So naturally, the easiest first blog revolves around my children. I have three of them.  They all have fur.  And four legs.

For this shoot, I focused on our two pugs (Bugsy and Kallie) mostly because our larger dog Dexter is a little camera shy.  I'd been wanting to capture our pugs' food obsession for awhile.  So, I picked up a few treats from PetSmart, put them just out of reach, and let them go nuts.  Needless to say, I ended up with some really fun photos.  But, don't worry.  No pugs were harmed in the making of these photos and they both got treats at the end.
Looking longinglyPug looks at a treat he can't reach WaitingPug waits for his treat WaitingPug waits for her treat ​