10 Days of Thoughtful Photos: Day 3

Day 3 brings us to the topic of: Be Creative and work with what you have!

I am always looking at items and thinking... how can that be used as a prop. But sometimes I find myself with a family that I have "grown up with" so to speak and we have to think... what can be do that is "new". I take my inspiration from the families. What do they LOVE. What speaks to them, are they movie buffs, hikers, beach go-ers... do they have a "family park" or a back yard that they do family gatherings at?

Background is the lil' ones "lovie" that he wouldn't take a photo without.

 Sometimes the hardest part about taking a portrait is handling obstacles. Such as the image above where the little one had a double ear infection and was miserable! How did we manage? Creatively! We used his blanket (that no image could be done without) as a background, and printed in black and white so it would all "match". We also tucked it under him, between him and his mom... where ever we needed to- showing or not. Because thats what it took!

One of the most creative cards I ever received was from a couple out of Las Vegas. The front of the card showed them bundled up with snow falling around them and it was a nice tight shot. Then you opened the card to see another image zoomed out... the couple in front of the Vegas sign, with a friend on a ladder next to them dumping "snow" over them... and below the jackets... shorts and tank tops... SO FUN!

Maybe your kids are all grown up and you can't all be in the same image? Have fun with that! Hold a photo of the last time you saw them, or create a card that has images of the gang from different times over the past year! Just because its a "holiday" card, doesn't mean you can't send your beach photos from summer... who says you have to send I Christmas card? For years I sent Valentines day cards because lets face it... a family photographer during Christmas = B.U.S.Y.!

Don't forget this is a 10 day series and tomorrow we start with some more technical tips! Stay tuned!