Family got me thinking about portraits, and the holidays. Holiday portraits can be done in your home, or on location anywhere in the Portland area. I can even bring a studio backdrop to your home if you’d like a more formal look. I’m booking sessions from October 15th – December 1st. Think earlier for outdoor sessions, so you don’t freeze! Plus you will get your photos back with lots of time to decide which is your favorite image to frame for Grandma.

Package One:  30 minute photo session, up to four family members, a location of your choice within 15 miles of Beaverton, creative editing of 10 – 15 final images.  $100

Package Two: Up to an hour photo session, up to four family members, a location of your choice within 15 miles of Beaverton, creative editing of 20-25 final images, 25 custom designed holiday 4×5.5 holiday cards using your favorite photo, and an 11×14  matted print with a high resolution file of the chose image.  $225

Package Three: Up to an hour photo session, up to four family members, a location within the Portland area, creative editing of 20-25 final images, 50 custom designed holiday cards, a 16×20 canvas wall art, and your two  favorite photos as high resolution files. $350

Package Four: Up to an hour photo session, up to four family members, a location within the Portland area, creative editing of 20-25 final images, 50 custom designed holiday cards, set of 4×6 prints of each photo in your gallery, high resolution image files for all your final photos. $450

Additional family members are $25 each.  A $100 deposit reserves your session.  Email me with any questions or for complete product pricing.  Below is a sample card from one of my favorite holiday sessions last year, taken at a Portland Christmas tree farm.

The night before we had made up a basket and hid plastic eggs with candy inside.  We left the real eggs that were colored on Good Friday to hide later, upstairs.  On Saturday night as we were filling eggs, I was putting in 1-2 little mini candies in each egg.  Hubby of course commented, “but look I can fit 4″.  For some reason I listened and starting putting in more.  Back to Sunday morning, no breakfast yet and now Mackenzie is finding lots of eggs, all filled with multiple pieces of candy.  I start running around the room discretely taking eggs that she has not seen yet and stashing them in a kitchen drawer, realizing the sugar madness we are about to experience.

After way too much chocolate, and a rejected breakfast of strawberries, cheese, and whole wheat crackers, one at a time we hid colored real eggs upstairs. I was a bit scared that they could not compare to plastic ones full of candy.  We went up and started our hunt.  Apparently I hid the eggs for my hubby to find.  My little girl is bright but I seemed to forget she is just over two and couldn’t possibly find them in her doll’s diaper case or under a bunch of pillows. She did get a kick out of it though, running around announcing “we found egg!”.

We had tons of fun, and once the sugar wore off, enjoyed a quiet family day together.

Check out his blog or Facebook page. Even if you are not quite ready to buy or sell your home, he’s always willing to give advice.

We met over ten years ago, and I am still amazed by his determination!

During our trip back east we visited my old friend Kendra in New Jersey.  I mentioned her a few months back in a post.  Her son is one day younger than my daughter.  This was the second time they met, and seemed to become instant friends.  I think at one point three of the four adults had a camera out and were trying to keep up with the little ones running around.

This is one of my favorites because it captures them.  It reminds me of their dashes that would start in one end of the kitchen, and end in a very brief break looking out the window at a cold winter day.

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I first met Kendra when we were little girls at dancing school, probably around 6 or 7 years old. I met Kendra again as freshmen in high school. We were in the same honors English class. On the second day of school, she brought a photo of our dancing school class in. She was excited to show me that we knew each other back then. I was so embarrassed of the picture of me as a chubby little girl in a tutu!

Kendra’s son Nate was born a day after my daughter. If only they weren’t 3000 miles away in New Jersey I would have just rushed over to take the holiday portraits for her.

So how do you get that great portrait of your toddler?

Don’t try to keep your little one still. Be prepared to chase. Put on your sneakers. Have your camera ready. Take a test shot of the scene first and then have your finger on the button.

Have someone in the portrait with him or her. Your toddler walking holding hands can make a sweet picture and slow them down a bit.

Put your spouse or friend on babysitting detail. You are the photographer and don’t want to be worrying about what goes in your toddler’s mouth or if he is too close to the street. Have someone along that can take all responsibility so you can just take the photos.

Get outside. Little ones loves to explore. If you are at a park, or even in the yard, there is more to distract your toddler from trying to grab the camera.

Get to know your camera. Whether you are shooting with a DSLR, a digicam, or even your cell phone, see what options you have. If you don’t have manual options, try shooting in sports mode. This typically uses a fast shutter speed, which helps with moving subjects.

Catch them busy. My daughter can get really caught up looking at something or playing with a certain toy. Take advantage of these times. Keep the camera handy and pick up up while your toddler is distracted.

Shoot lots. When I do family portraits, I take tons of images. Babies and toddlers move quickly and even with my professional camera I can’t always snap it before they are in motion. I sometimes photograph on rapid fire. I’d rather have excess of images than have missed a moment.

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When I was pregnant everyone kept telling me to take some hubby time. Go out to eat. Go to the movies. Look into each others eyes while you stay up late drinking hot chocolate in front of the fire. Of course, I am guessing many first time moms-to-be would agree, I was too excited and anxious to really take the advice to heart and enjoy the quiet moments.

Around 35 weeks I got put on modified bed rest, which pretty much means I was supposed to sit on the couch and watch tv, or read a book. I did watch way too much HGTV, and read piles of pregnancy / birthing books. However, I really just wanted to get up and do things, and found the rest very difficult to take. Now with a 21 month old little girl, and a business, I can’t imagine the opportunity to sit on the couch for even a couple of hours!!!

I imagine it’s all very different when you are having your second, like Carrie and Stephen. In their photos, I try to capture who they are as a current family with their toddler Evan.

The first photo, a belly without a face, is one of the exceptions. The artist in me loves it but the feminist in me strongly objects, since it is cold and stark. Of course, back in art school, I would have said that any image that can conjure up enough feeling to make me feel conflicted, and think about it, is good.

Thanks Deanna!

Your little ones were a lot of fun, and your family has such spirit!