The Importance of Capturing Stages of your Baby's Life

Newborn

When you welcome your little one into the world, you may not realize how quickly the time will pass. Before you know it, your baby will celebrate his first birthday – then school, then driving, and graduation. 

Time flies when you are watching your baby grow up – that is why it is so important that you capture each stage of your baby's life. These first years of your child's life are precious moments just waiting to be captured forever.When your baby is a newborn, schedule pictures as soon as possible. You will be amazed at how quickly your baby changes in the first weeks of life. This is when your baby is at his smallest, when he/she is still curled up – just as he/she was inside of you.


When your baby is about three months old, he/she will have grown and changed immensely from birth. He/she is more alert and aware of his surroundings. He/she is paying attention to those around him and interacting with them. He/she is smiling and laughing. Take a moment to schedule a portrait session to capture this memorable time of your child's life.

3 Months

When your child is six months old, he/she is a much different person than a few months ago. He/she has his own personality. He/she giggles, babbles, and has surpassed many developmental milestones. This is the perfect time to catch his blossoming personality in an image – it is also a great time for a special portrait of you and your child because as his curiosity continues to grow, he/she is going to want less time on your lap and more time exploring.

6 months

When your little one reaches one year, he/she is no longer such a little one. He/she is crawling and may even be walking. He/she has become his own person, with his/her own unique traits – on the outside and the inside. Your child will one day look back on his one-year pictures and you want to make sure you capture this precious event for him/her. Make each memory of your child count by preserving them forever – both for his and your enjoyment. 

1 year

What to wear for family photos

I like to try and follow what I call the “Three Colors + POP” rule:

1.  Pick three colors (one being a neutral)  and put together outfits with those colors only.  More than three colors can seem a bit busy.  Here, they picked Green, Red, and the neutrals being black & gray. 

2.  Add in an unexpected POP of color.  The youngest son's striped sweater and the middle son with his red sweater fit the bill.   Be aware that this POP will become a focal point in the picture, so I wouldn’t advise adding this color in an area that you don’t want others to look at too closely.  I had to make sure to get a smile out of these little cuties because your eye is instantly drawn to their sweetness. I also put the oldest son in the middle to balance the bright colors with the more neutral solid colors. 

{I must make a disclaimer: RULES CAN BE BROKEN.  I am preaching to myself here.  However, I will say that these guidelines generally work well to produce a a cohesive, vibrant family portrait; a modern take on the whole “matching white shirts and blue jeans”, if you will.}

Other tips:

Proper clothing coordination is critical for a successful family portrait. The goal is for all clothing items to coordinate together, just like when you put together your own outfit. It's a good idea to pick a scheme of 3 or 4 colors to draw from, avoiding pieces that exactly match. 

1.  Think coordinating, not matching.  Again, unless you want your family picture to look straight out of 1990, try to not match outfits exactly. Although, it can be done, for instance with twins.

2.  Try and pick colors that complement the surrounding environment.  Navy blue and white are classic color choices for a beach session. Greens and browns, "earthy colors" work lovely with grass and trees.

If you want to take this one step further (if you plan on displaying this picture in your home), try and choose colors that will compliment your home decor.  My home is decorated with a lot of neutrals; thus, I would never pick neon colors for our outfits.  Of course I’m exaggerating, but you get the point.

3.  Use your brightest colors as accessories.  You don’t want the brightest colors detracting from the most important part of the picture:  the PEOPLE!

4.  It is ok to mix solids and simple patterns.  I know a lot of photographers might argue with me on this one, but I like to think that SIMPLE patterns add interest and texture to a picture.  The youngest son has a striped pattern sweater and it works just fine with the solid colors.  If you stick to a color scheme, everything just naturally blends together.

So, that’s it!  Hopefully, the above tips will help you do a little advance planning for what to wear for family photoshoots to create a beautiful family portrait you can be proud of.

5 Wedding traditions to break

There are many good wedding traditions for a bride to uphold and many bad wedding rules to break. Some wedding rules were made to be broken. These are 5 wedding traditions to break.

Brides Wear White: Some people still associate a white gown with virginity rather than joy. Brides should wear whatever color they like. White is not always flattering. I have seen a handful of wedding dresses done beautifully with ivory, hints of black or red in the dress. Sometimes a non-traditional dress can add even more personality to the wedding.

The Bride's Parents Pay: Expecting the bride's parents to pay for everything but the flowers is another wedding rule to break. I would never dream of burdening my parents with all the expense. Many couples pay for most of the costs ourselves. In addition to not causing hardship for others, it's nice to have more control over the arrangements.

Brides Should Expect Gifts From Every Guest: Greed seems to be spawning new wedding traditions. I even read one so-called bridal expert claiming that every invitee is obligated to send a gift even if they decline to attend. As a guest, I've always brought a gift but I might even break this wedding rule if I encountered the greedy bride above.

Brides Should Issue Plus One Invitations: Some couples think they have to enable every invitee to bring a guest. I encourage the general wedding tradition of inviting couples you are familiar with and try to be flexible if any guest needs to adjust their party. 

Brides Must Assemble Binary Wedding Parties: A wedding party should reflect the couple's wishes for the loved ones they want around them rather than any wedding rules about correct numbers and positions. I have been in a wedding as one of the two maids of honor, also I have photographed a wedding where a woman was a "groomswomen". So this rule totally goes out the window.